Belongings
by TweakerWolf
Summary: Set during 7th year. The Golden Trio is captured by the Snatchers and brought to Malfoy Manor. But what happens when Hermione gets left behind after Harry and the other manage to escape? Is Draco really a changed wizard?
1. The Nightmare Begins

Setting: AU starting at the events in DH where the trio is caught and taken to the Manor, Harry and Ron are down in the cellar and Hermione has been tortured by Bellatrix (following the book, no 'mudblood' scar on her arm, although she does have a good size cut on her throat, without being fatal) . At the point of their capture, Ron and Harry have not destroyed the Locket Horcrux, instead rushing back to the tent to warm up. Afterward, none of them could decide how to destroy it so they continued to carry the locket and sword. When Dobby comes to rescue them, not everything went according to plan and Hermione was Disapparated with Bellatrix before the chandelier was dropped. They only Apparated to a different section of the Manor, while Dobby saved Ron, Harry, and Griphook. Because Bellatrix was no longer in the room, she didn't throw the knife and Dobby is assumed to be alive, although the story centers on Hermione and then Draco. As far as Voldemort is concerned, Draco completed his mission to kill Dumbledore and is highly regarded, not ill regarded like in the books (although Snape was still the one who actually killed Dumbledore, Draco got the credit). As far as Headquarters go, Grimmauld Place is still secure, it was not forfeited during the escape from the Ministry.

Hermione slowly opened her eyes, her limbs were unwilling to move, and pain radiated throughout her body. The room she was in was dark; there weren't any windows so she figured she must be back in the cellar. She groaned as she slowly sat up, fighting the wave of nausea and dizziness, and looked around for her friends. She felt a pull on her neck as she looked around and grimaced, reaching up to feel her neck. As her fingers found the cut, she felt a slight burning sensation from her dirty fingers. There was blood from the wound, she figured she must not have been out long if it was still fresh. Hermione pulled down the sleeve of her jacket over her hand and covered her neck with her palm to stop the bleeding.

Just then a door creaked open and light seeped into the room, silhouetting a pair of legs as they came down the old stairs. Hermione felt her heart start to race, she looked around desperately for something to use as a weapon.

"Don't bother Mudblood, there isn't anything but you down here," her captor spit out.

Recognizing the voice, she looked up into his eyes, unsure of what was to become of her.

"What do you want with me Malfoy?"

"You're coming with me, get up," he informed her, grabbing her arm and yanking her to her feet.

Hermione stumbled as she was towed up the stairs, feebly struggling against her former classmate's grip. Malfoy shoved her to the floor and stood back, blocking the doorway; quickly glancing around, she found herself back in the drawing room, only this time with more occupants in it.

"Well, it would seem as though the filthy Mudblood is awake again, she we continue where we left off?" Bellatrix cackled.

"Now, now Belletrix, let's give her some time," a low voice responded.

Hermione shivered at the voice, looking up to see Voldemort standing a few feet away. She was certain she was going to die. There was no way he'd let a Mudblood like her stay alive, especially when she was a friend of Harry. She just wondered how much torture she'd be put through before she was finally killed.

"Stand up!" Voldemort commanded.

Hermione steeled herself as she stood, she wasn't going to let them break her, no matter what they did to her. Lifting her chin, she stared the Dark Lord directly in the eye defiantly.

"_Crucio_"

Hermione opened her mouth in a silent scream, falling to her knees. Then the curse was lifted, she fell forward onto her hands, wondering what Voldemort was thinking. For some reason, the pain wasn't as excruciating as when Bellatrix was torturing her, but she knew it wasn't for a lack of empathy. Before she could give it any more thought, the Dark Lord spoke again

"Tell me, where did Harry Potter go?"

Hermione remained silent, not giving him anything, just sitting back on her heels.

"You speak when the Dark Lord asks you a question!" Bellatrix screeched, raising her wand threateningly.

Voldemort studied her for another moment, giving her a chance to speak, but it was obvious she was going to remain silent. He raised his wand and cursed her again, stronger this time. Hermione screamed out in pain this time, collapsing on the ground as the curse reverberated throughout her body. When he lifted the curse, Hermione panted, trying to catch her breath after screaming.

"Tell me!"

"I have no idea," Hermione gasped, not giving him the answer he wanted. As Voldemort raised his wand again, she reiterated, "I don't know, that's the whole idea."

"What does that mean Mudblood?" questioned Bellatrix as she strode over to the girl on the ground. She wrenched her to her feet, shaking her violently. "How could you not know where your precious friends went?"

"Ask that filthy creature over there where he found us," she spat out, looking over at Greyback.

Greyback growled and took a few steps towards her before Voldemort raised his hand to halt him.

"Answer Greyback."

"We found them in the woods, after they dared say your name. What does that have to do with anything?" Greyback snarled.

Everyone looked over at Hermione, waiting for her to explain. Bellatrix was starting to shake her again before she finally answered.

"We wander, so no one can find us. The only reason you did was because we made a mistake. We don't stay in specific places, nor for any amount of time. I couldn't take you back to where we were if I tried. So I can't tell you where Harry is, because I have no way of knowing." Hermione finally explained, satisfaction evident in her eyes.

Bellatrix let out an angry scream and backhanded Hermione, letting her fall to the ground, "Do you believe her my Lord?"

"She seems to be telling the truth. Even if she can't take us to Potter, she is still useful to us, I have plans for her. And I'm sure Potter would stop at nothing to try and get his little Mudblood back. Malfoy, step forward."

Hermione looked over as Lucius stepped forward, bowing his head.

"Not you Lucius, your son, Draco."

Lucius's face reddened as he stepped back and his son took his place.

"Yes my Lord?"

"You know this girl correct, she dared to learn magic at Hogwarts and performed better than any Purebloods?"

Malfoy's face flushed as he nodded his head, Hermione lifted her chin at that comment, they could never say she didn't deserve her magic.

"Well, since you've done so well these past few months, making up for your father's mistakes, I suppose you deserve a reward. I graciously give you this Mudblood, to use however you see fit. Teach her that a Mudblood can never be above a Pureblood," Voldemort hissed.

Hermione's eyes widened at his words, a slave, to Malfoy? There was no way she'd let that happen. She glared at Malfoy, standing up and preparing to launch herself at him. Suddenly she found herself back on the floor, bound with ropes, Bellatrix pointing her wand at her.

"Don't think you can escape here Mudblood, you belong here now," she sneered.

"T-thank you my Lord, this is very gracious of you," mumbled Malfoy.

Voldemort stepped closer to Hermione, Malfoy stepping up to her other side, holding out his hand. With a flick of Voldemort's wand, Malfoy's hand was cut open. Spreading some of the blood on his wand, Voldemort waved the wand over her bound body and called out a spell she'd never heard of, a strange numb feeling settling over her body. The sensation only lasted a moment, Malfoy pulling out his wand to heal his hand and clean off Voldemort's wand of his blood.

"You can unbind her now Aunt Bellatrix, she won't be going anywhere."

Hermione felt the ropes disappear from her body, she looked around, unsure why they were sure she couldn't escape. What was that spell Voldemort just cast, and why did it involve Malfoy's blood?

"Get up, off of the floor Mudblood. You've got things to do," Malfoy ordered her.

Hermione was about to give a nasty reply when she felt her body stand of its own accord. Her eyes narrowed as she looked at Malfoy, wishing she could wipe the smirk off of his face. She wanted to curse him, hit him, do anything but her body would not move.

"Have fun with her Draco, you are dismissed for now, I need to have some words with my other followers here," Voldemort said, glaring at Greyback and Lucius.

"Come with me," Draco called over his shoulder, Hermione obediently following him. He led her out of the drawing room and up some stairs. "The entire second and third floors of the East Wing belongs to me, we won't be disturbed there," he informed her, a nasty smile on his face.


	2. Is This Really Happening?

Hermione felt her face pale at his words, what did he plan on doing with her? Surely he wasn't that evil that he'd force himself upon her. Earlier when they had been caught, he seemed reluctant enough to even name her, in fact he seemed sad to see her in his house. But now, he seemed like the self assured prat that he had been back at school.

The pair up to a pair of double doors off the third floor landing, leading to the East Wing; Hermione closed her eyes. She felt Malfoy's hard grip on her arm as he pulled her into the hallway and closed the doors behind her and locked them. She kept them closed as he pulled her further into his domain, her breathing shallow, frightened. Suddenly she felt herself being pushed down, onto a soft surface.

"Are you hungry?"

Hermione's eyes shot open at his question. She found herself in a large room, reminding her of the common room back at school. Before she could study the room too closely, Malfoy's hand was waving in front of her face. She glared at him in response, she wasn't going to talk to him.

"It won't do for you to starve you know. That would be a terrible way for the Gryffindor Princess to die now wouldn't it? I could always force you to eat, so at least be dignified enough to feed yourself."

Hermione looked him in the eye, not sure what to make of him right now. But she realized he was right, she might as well take this opportunity to eat so she nodded her head.

"Poppy!"

A loud popping noise was followed by a small squeak, "Master?"

"Prepare whatever she wants, I'll have the same," Draco ordered, gesturing over to Hermione.

The house elf turned expectantly to Hermione, waiting for a suggestion.

"Umm, I'll have some roast, with potatoes?" Hermione suggested tentatively.

"Right away Miss," Poppy squeaked and with another pop she was gone.

Hermione watched as Malfoy collapsed onto the other side of the couch. Looking at him she could see just how tired he looked, even gaunter than he was last year. Suddenly she wanted to comfort him, put her arm around his shoulder, he just looked so defeated. She mentally shook herself at that thought, he was a Death Eater, and he didn't need or even want her comfort. So they sat in silence, Hermione staring at Malfoy, wanting him to explain the situation, and Draco with his head in his hands looking defeated.

The silence seemed to drag on forever until they heard another pop and Poppy was carrying two plates over to the small table in front of the couch. When Draco gave her no further orders, she curtsied in her pillowcase and left. Draco seemed unaware that there was food in front of him and she didn't want to disturb him so she slowly scooted to the edge of the couch and pulled a plate towards her. Malfoy seemed to snap back to himself when he heard the plate scraping on the table. He quickly reached over and pulled his plate closer to him and started eating the food. Hermione followed suit, not wanting to miss out on a warm meal. They ate in silence, the sound of their utensils occasionally scraping the plates was the only noise in the room. Draco pushed his plate away from him and stood, walking towards an archway off to the left. He paused, turning back towards Hermione, hand on the wall.

"Did you want something to drink?"

"Oh, um yea, water is fine, thanks."

With a nod of his head he turned back and continued into the other room. Hermione hurried and finished the rest of her food, in case he summoned Poppy back to take away her plate. He came back with two glasses of water and placed one in front of her before sitting back on the couch with a sigh. Hermione pushed her plate away and took a sip of her water before she finally broke the silence.

"What is going on here Malfoy?" she demanded.

He turned his head to look at her with sorrowful eyes, "You are a slave now, that spell that the Dark Lord did, he bound you to me. You have to obey everything I say. You can't run away, hurt yourself or hurt me. For the most part, I think you can stay here, in my wing of the house; no one should bother you here. No one else should be allowed to hurt you except for the Dark Lord, since he cast the spell, and if they do harm you, it is my right to punish them."

Hermione stared at him, dumbfounded. This couldn't be happening, bound to Malfoy, stuck in his manor, unable to get word out that she was still alive. But of course the Order would figure she was alive, Voldemort knew she was valuable as Harry's friend and considered the brains in the Golden Trio. But would Harry and Ron come storming in here to get her back, they wouldn't be that stupid would they?

"I'm so sorry," Draco mumbled quietly, head back in his hands.

"You're sorry? Sorry? You can't be sorry because you are an arrogant prat that isn't capable of feeling anything for anyone. I don't want to hear it," Hermione snarled. She didn't care what he'd do to her but she was going to let him know she wasn't going to do anything easily.

"I am sorry, for everything. This wasn't supposed to happen, Dumbledore wasn't supposed to die. He said he'd offer me help, protect me and my family, why did he have to die?"

"He didn't have to die, you could have taken him up on the offer you idiot, he meant what he said, he would have protected your family."

"But I didn't kill him," Draco whispered.

"Oh, he decided to jump off the tower?"

"No. Snape did it. To protect me, he promised my mother I guess. Said he'd do whatever it took to help me complete my mission. He killed him, and I got credit for it, I'm in the Dark Lord's good graces now. But that isn't worth anything, not to me. I'm really just a prisoner, in charge of my family's lives."

Hermione couldn't believe what was coming out of his mouth, he sounded so despondent and lost. Did Snape really kill Dumbledore, so Draco wouldn't have to? But why did Dumbledore have to die, wasn't Snape working for the Order? Her head was reeling with all these questions, she didn't know what was going on, she just wanted to cry but she had to stay strong.

"If you really are sorry, why don't you let me go Malfoy? I can tell the Order what you told me, find a way out for you," Hermione offered.

"I can't. You are bound to me, but since I didn't cast the spell, I can't end the spell. It's not like with Poppy, I can't just give you clothes and say get out of here. If I find a way, I promise I'll get you out of this house, somehow. But no one in the house can know, as far as they are concerned, you have to be a broken slave until then. Please, do you understand?"

"Why would I do that? Like you'd break me in one night," she retorted.

"Maybe not right away, but if they think that I can't handle you, they'll give you to someone else, or just kill you. You don't want to be bound to the other Death Eaters, I've seen what they do, how they feel about…Muggleborns. I promise, I won't do anything to you, at least not while we in this wing. I might have to… be dominant in front of company, but please don't make waves."

"Oh so now I'm a Muggleborn? Not a Mudblood? You had no problem calling me that earlier tonight."

"That was because they were all watching, I had to say it. Believe me, I'm tired of all of this, Pureblood, Muggleborn, Halfblood. Who cares? I just want this to end, the Dark Lord isn't even a Pureblood, what kind of twist is that? If blood status is really that important, why are we listening to someone who's a Halfblood? How can he even spout about blood purity when he doesn't have it? You've always been top of our class, much to my father's disgust. 'Draco, how dare you let some Mudblood beat you?' I got lots of beatings for that. I was never enough. That's why I hated you in school, because of my father's attitude, it was your fault I was getting abused. That's how it felt at first anyways," Draco ranted, getting up and pacing suddenly.

"Your father beat you, just because someone who happened to be a Muggleborn was better than you?"

"Of course he did. I was second in our class, you were the only one who bested me. Maybe if I hadn't tried as hard, wasn't second in class, he wouldn't know so much about you. Maybe then I wouldn't have hated you as much because I would just have been stupid for not being in the top. But of course I wasn't raised that way, I HAD to be in the top. But now I realize, I really tried my hardest, second in all of our class is pretty damn good. If you really had the talent to be better than me, you deserved to be top of our class, regardless of who you are. I guess it's too late for that to matter now, all I can do is promise I won't do anything mean to you now," Draco finished, collapsing back onto the couch.

"I really had no idea how hard it was for you in those early years. What kind of father does that to their child?" she asked, softening to Draco's predicament. She had no idea how nice he was really going to be to her, but she figured she would play along, at least long enough to find a way out of here.

Draco smirked and just shrugged his shoulders, "A Death Eater father. Let's just get some sleep, I'll show you around."

Draco stood up and held his arm up gesturing to the room, "This is the sitting room, it has a pantry just through that archway over there, it has snack foods and a small refrigerator with drinks. If there is something you want that isn't in there, call for Poppy, I commanded her to come to you if you call her."

Hermione nodded her head and looked into the pantry he had gone into earlier for a quick peek. At least she knew she'd have access to water and food. She followed him out into the hallway, starting by the double doors that led into his wing. The first door on the right was a moderate sized library with plenty of books.

"These are all my personal books, feel free to browse, I know how much you love to read. But be careful, if you hear someone coming, look like you're cleaning or something. Any books you want to borrow and hide in your room should be safe."

Hermione looked at Draco with surprise, he was going to let her read his books? That seemed too good to be true, but she'd definitely take him up on the offer. Hopefully she'd be able to find some dark magic books that can help out the Order. Across from the library was the sitting room they had just left. Next to the library was the guest room which was to be Hermione's quarters, with her own bathroom. Hermione couldn't help but smile since the library was right next to her room, it would be easy to bring books back and forth. Across the way and slightly down the hall from her room was a sunroom, with large windows looking out over the courtyard and the West Wing on the far side. The last two rooms on the floor were Draco's own bedroom, next to hers, and an office, directly across from him.

Hermione thought the wing was cozy, with six rooms on this floor alone, which would give her plenty of space to stay out of Draco's way. Her bedroom was more than what she had expected she'd get, let alone that she didn't have to stay with her 'Master' but to also have her own bathroom, Hermione felt like she was in some kind of weird dream. She believed Draco when he said that she wouldn't want to end up with some of the other Death Eaters, there was no way they'd be this lenient with her accommodations.

"T-thank you, for being so kind; you were right, I could have it much worse," Hermione offered, blushing.

"You're welcome," Draco said after a pause, looking over at her. "I give you access to all the rooms on this floor, but do not leave this wing unless you have my permission. Feel free to call for Poppy if you need anything and she'll oblige to the best of her abilities. If it is something I need to approve of, she'll bring it up to me. If I am not here on this floor I'm usually on the second, but don't look for me down there, that's were Death Eater business occurs and my father drops in unexpectedly."

"Ok, I'd rather not run into anyone else so that works for me. What kind of rooms are down stairs? There are only so many offices someone needs aren't there?" she scoffed.

"Well there were also bedrooms down there, but we converted a few. There is still one in case I have other visitors or I crash down there. The office is a lot bigger, knocked out a wall to make two rooms into one. And I have a conference room, not that I hold any meetings, but I guess it was for when I take over the family business, I'd have my own area to work in and I wouldn't infringe on my dad's space. And of course another sitting room with pantry, because you can never have enough of those."

"Wow, I have no idea what to do with all of that room, and that's only two floors of one wing. Thanks for showing me around, and for not being a prat. I don't want to be here, but you have surprisingly made it more bearable."

Draco blushed as he nodded his head, glad that she wasn't being difficult. Although he supposed she was just overwhelmed. He had no doubt that she'd spend most of the night and the next few days trying to find a way out of this place. He just hoped she'd be discreet about it, he didn't need someone finding out about her freedoms.

"Goodnight Gryffindor Princess, don't make too much noise in your efforts to escape. I know you'll try and maybe you'll succeed."

Hermione blushed at the nickname and mumbled a goodnight in return before she made her way into her new quarters. She sat down on the bed, wondering if she should take a bath before bed. Then she realized she didn't have any other clothes, she really didn't want to get back into her dirty clothes. Just then there was a quiet knock on her door, quickly walking over, Hermione opened her door to see Draco, hand on the back of his neck.

"I just remembered, there are some clothes for you in the closet, although they are last minute, something should fit you until Poppy can get your sizes. I've got plenty of money in my account that the Dark Lord can't touch and my family's money is still coming in from various places. I'll send Poppy out to get you some stuff, go ahead and make a list of some essentials.

"What will your family say if they find out you've bought me stuff?"

Draco shrugged and thought for a moment, "I'll tell them that I want you to be presentable in my company, so I can't let you go without bathroom essentials, as for clothes, you'll need a few pairs so they can be washed, although I'll warn you now, if there is ever company, you might be expected to wear, some sort of outfit."

"Oh well, I'm sure I'll manage. I'm sure you'll have to explain more to me tomorrow, this is all too surreal. Is this really happening?"

"Sadly, yeah; but like I said, I will get you out of here. Goodnight again."

Hermione closed the door again and went to the closet looking for something to wear. Inside the closet there was a dresser on one side and hanger space for the rest of the closet, as well as a small shoe rack underneath. Nothing was on the hangers so she turned towards the dresser and opened a drawer. Her eyes opened at the slip of cloth that she was supposed to wear. It was barely a slip that she would wear under a dress, made out of thin fabric and not even going down to her knees. It did appear to be the one thing in the drawer that would fit best. After digging around a little be more, she found a pair of underwear that would fit and that looked clean. Beggars couldn't be choosers, after all she'd been spending a lot of time out camping, she could handle a night in a soft bed, even if it was wearing a slip.

She made her way to the bathroom, she turned on the bath water and undressed, then she called Poppy. She asked her to clean her clothes so she'd have them to wear in the morning; then she sunk blissfully into the warm water. She didn't have any soap yet to clean herself but just being in the water helped her feel more like her old self. Gingerly cleaning the cut on her throat, she tried to gauge how deep it was, it had stopped bleeding at some point so she hoped it would heal quickly. As the water started to cool down, she sluggishly climbed out and dried off, slipping into the borrowed clothes. She didn't even have any energy left to try and escape, there'd be time for that tomorrow, she climbed under the covers and passed out.

Draco paced in his room, wondering how all of this would work out. He couldn't let Granger stay here, he had made her life miserable enough in school. No one else deserved to be tormented by the Dark Lord, if only he'd had more of a backbone, he'd be able to stand up to him. Draco decided he'd go down to the main library and look for some answers in the morning. The Dark Lord was supposed to be leaving the manor in the morning, since Potter wasn't in their custody anymore, so all he'd have to deal with was his family. He laid on his bed, looking in the direction of Granger's room, he couldn't believe that she was sleeping right next door. It might not have been under ideal conditions, or even her choice, but it was still unbelievable. He knew this was his opportunity to make everything right, he wasn't going to make any more mistakes


	3. Thank you?

The Next Morning*

Hermione woke as streaks of sunlight snuck in through the blinds. Momentarily lost, she sat up in bed looking around. The memories of yesterday flooded back to her, she was in the Malfoy Manor, enslaved to Draco for the foreseeable future, right in the snake's den. Things wouldn't be so bad, Draco had promised her that right? But maybe he was lying, trying to lull her into some false sense of security and then he'd try to break her. Although Hermione doubted that, his words last night seemed really heartfelt, she'd just have to keep her wits about her and take advantage of the leniency to learn as much as she can. She looked up and saw her old clothes at the edge of her bed and smiled, at least she had Poppy.

"Poppy," Hermione called as she climbed out of the bed.

"Yes Miss?" Poppy asked as she Apparated into her room.

"Thank you again for cleaning my clothes. Can I trouble you for some breakfast?"

"It would be no problem at all Miss, what would you like to eat?"

"Just some eggs and kippers please, and could you take it into the sitting room like before?"

"Yes Miss, right away," Poppy curtsied and left to the kitchen.

Hermione quickly changed into her own clothes and went into the library. She had no idea how the books were organized, let alone what books she might find that would be useful so she started in the far corner. Browsing through the cases, it wasn't long before she found a few Dark Arts books, hopefully they'd give her somewhere to start. Taking the three books she found, she crossed the hall and entered the sitting room, she chose to sit at the same couch she had last night, placing the books on the cushion next to her. Propping her feet up on the table, she picked the first book up and started to read; she stayed like that most of the morning, pausing only long enough to thank Poppy when she brought up her food. By the time Draco found her, she had finished the first book and had started on the second.

"Not even one day here and you are speeding through the books, no surprise there," Draco chuckled.

Startled, Hermione looked up from the book, wondering if he was trying to insult her.

"I'd tell you not to bother with those books, I've already looked through them and I don't think they have anything important in them. But I could be wrong, it has been awhile since I've read them, but they don't have a lot on the Darker Arts," he offered as he sat down in a chair opposite her.

"I've only just started this one, but the first one didn't have anything I could use," she sighed in response.

"Have you eaten?"

Hermione blushed and nodded her head, wondering why he showed so much interest in her well being.

"That's good, I can't have you starving and I really didn't want to try and force you to eat. What about that list for Poppy?"

"Oh, I forgot all about that, I got all caught up in reading. Can I use your office?"

Draco nodded and went into the pantry to get some crisps and juice. He definitely wasn't much of a morning person, he couldn't understand how Granger was so, cheery this early. What time did she get up anyways? Surely she hadn't been up all night reading, she looked pretty tired when he talked to her last night. Draco had a busy day ahead of him, he really needed to get down to the second floor and look for books there. Maybe he'd have Poppy bring them up to this library and Granger could help him read through them.

Hermione pulled out a roll of parchment and some ink, finding a quill on the desk. She wrote down what sizes she wore, as well as the number of each item she wanted. Once she had covered the clothes, she wrote down her bathroom necessities, including her favorite lotion. She felt that it might be considered a splurge but she really missed having softer skin and smelling like vanilla sugar. She always felt it complimented her honey pear shampoo nicely. Even though everyone thought she was a prudish bookworm, she did have a girly side. Looking over the list, Hermione came up blank with anything else she would need right away that Malfoy would approve. He had mentioned maybe having to wear a uniform but that must already be in her dresser somewhere. As she strolled back into the sitting room, she saw that it was vacant again.

"Oh well, I guess Poppy will make sure there is nothing 'illegal' on here. Poppy, I have my list for you," Hermione called.

Poppy popped up once again and looked over the list and assured her she'd get everything on it. With nothing else to do, she sat back down on the couch and resumed reading. Poppy returned with all of her new items within a few hours so Hermione decided to take a break from her knowledge gathering. Taking the bags from Poppy and heading into her room, she started to put the items away. She started with her new clothes, organizing them in the drawers and taking out the borrowed clothes that didn't fit her. Surprising herself, she kept the slip she had worn during the night to use as pajamas; she also found the supposed uniform she might have to wear. Holding it up to her, she could tell it would be tight, but at least it would cover everything. And it wasn't a French maid outfit at least, it was more of a hotel maid looking uniform, she could live with that if she had to.

As she put the uniform back into the drawer she pulled it from, she shook herself. She could live with that if she had to? She hadn't been here a full twenty four hours and she was already getting complacent, how did that happen? Hermione backed out of the closet and sat on the edge of the bed and thought about her predicament. Was she really getting complacent? No, she decided, she was just making the best of what was going on. Malfoy just really put her at ease with the way he was acting, she believed him when he said he wouldn't hurt her. She really needed an ally in this house and if Malfoy was willing to try and help her, she wouldn't turn him away just because of their past. As for the outfit, he had already told her that the time might come where she'd have to put on a performance of a broken slave. At least her outfit covered everything; she'd be able to do her part without being too embarrassed. Having reassured herself, Hermione got back up and finished putting away her few outfits and then moved onto the bathroom items; she couldn't help but smile when she smelled the lotion Poppy bought, vanilla sugar was her favorite. Just as she finished putting everything away, she heard a voice calling out.

"Granger, you awake?"

"Yea," she responded, heading over to the door and opening it.

"I brought up some books from the larger library on the second floor as well as the library in the main part of the house. They are in the same section where you found the first few books, just wanted to let you know."

"Oh thank goodness, I really doubt I'll find anything useful in the books I found first," Hermione sighed. After a slight pause she asked him a question, "Why are you helping me try to escape?"

"I told you, I don't think anyone else needs to suffer the Dark Lord and his ideals. Especially not you, the brightest witch of our age, not to mention the Gryffindor Princess; it isn't right. I'll find a way to take you back to your friends, heaven knows how long they'll last without you Granger."

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at the last part, even though the thought also made her quite sad. She had faith in them, but in reality she knew they couldn't properly focus while she was being held captive.

"I know it's probably asking a lot but, can I maybe send an owl to the Weasleys? I want someone to know I'm at least alive."

"I don't think so, I doubt even I could send a letter out without it being read over. It's too dangerous. Although I'm sure some of the Order members are following me on the few missions I go on here and there. I don't think they wanted to try and capture me right away since they don't think I'm important. I can maybe try to leave a clue behind then, and hopefully they'll figure it out. I need to go to Knockturn Alley tomorrow actually, I'm sure we can come up with something before then."

"Oh thank you Draco," Hermione exclaimed and hugged him. After a moment she pulled back, blushing furiously, did she just hug him? And since when did she call him Draco to his face?

"Um, you're welcome, H-Hermione," Draco mumbled in surprise. He felt a flush on his cheeks and vaguely wondered if he'd get another hug from her in the future. Before either of them could dwell too much on the hug, Draco started to explain some things.

"Well um, I figured before things get too comfortable, I'll explain what is going to be going on here."

Hermione felt her hopes drop, he didn't say it with a nasty tone, but it was still too good to be true that she'd have freedoms here.

"I found out while I was downstairs that my father and my aunt will expect to see your 'progress' in a few days. Clearly they don't expect me to break you in a day or two, and they feel I should be focusing all my time on it. As such we'll be seeing a lot of each other since they don't want to see me downstairs. I guess they think that if you are broken, it will make finding Potter easier, I have no idea what they are planning. So I guess by the end of the week they expect something."

Hermione squirmed, "Something like what?"

"I don't know really. You are a Gryffindor and you've faced a lot of things, even Aunt Bellatrix's torture, and the only reason you answered their questions was because you knew it was to spite them. I feel like if I were evil, I still wouldn't have gotten far with you, your morals are too strong for that. Honestly I think that if you seemed too frightened, they'd be suspicious."

"You got that right, I'd die before betraying my friends, no matter what you throw at me."

"Either way, you'll feel compelled to do anything I order you, but unless I tell you to shut your mouth, you'll be able to sass as much as you want, although I'd suggest you don't overdo it. And of course there is the um-outfit," Draco stated, coloring slightly.

"Yea, I found that, it covers everything and isn't a French maid outfit so I'm not complaining."

Draco nodded gratefully and kept going, "I can explain away any lack of marks on you, saying that I don't want to mar your good looks. Even my father can't deny that you are good looking; he isn't above such, activities. Just as long as there are no, ahem, children coming from said activities. My Aunt may or may not say something about that, but you are my slave and I can do as I wish."

Hermione felt her cheeks warm at the thought, "They wouldn't think you're dirtying yourself by doing that, w-with me, a Mudblood?"

"D-Don't call yourself that. But my aunt might try to insinuate that, but no one else will care much, at least as long as they believe I'm only fulfilling my needs and most will assume it is against your wishes, monsters that they are.

"I'll say that you are encouraged to be sassy but know, I might have to, well, strike you. I hope you can be a convincing actress and make them believe I'm hurting you. All in all I hope the first showing will go as well as they expect and they are content. I'll continue to update you if I can think of anything. In the meantime, I guess we're pretty confined to these six rooms."

"Yea I guess we are. Oh, I got my stuff, I wanted to thank you for it, even though Poppy went out and got it. I do really appreciate you letting me have stuff."

Draco nodded his head, unsure of what to say, no one had really ever thanked him before and her Hermione did it twice already today. He realized they had been standing in her doorway for a bit and wondered if she was hungry yet.

"Well I guess that's enough troubling news for today, shall we head to the library and continue searching for answers, maybe have some lunch?


	4. Poppy

"Well I guess that's enough troubling news for today, shall we head to the library and continue searching for answers, maybe have some lunch?"

Hermione nodded her head gratefully at the change of topic. Draco led the way to the new books he had brought up, stacking them on a table and pulling out a chair. Once they were both seated, they each opened a book and looked for a way out for Hermione. Before they got too far into their research, Poppy showed up with sandwiches and chips (fries?) and placed the plates on the table.

"Poppy really seems in tune with your needs, how long have you had her?" Hermione asked as she reached for a sandwich.

Draco looked up from his book, confused look on his face, "Hm, what? Oh Poppy? She's been here for about ten years, but she's only belonged to me personally for the last three."

"Well I must say I'm surprised at how well you treat her, compared to what Harry told me about Dobby," Hermione stated quietly.

"Well I'll be honest and say she was treated just like Dobby when my father owned her. He has great disdain for any creature that can't live up to its purpose. She was a hard worker but of course she made a few mistakes which my father noticed. It took me forever to get her to warm up to me. Years ago I really wouldn't have cared, but when Poppy came under my care I realized I wanted to change that. I guess your little organization rubbed off on me during our 4th year."

"I didn't realize you knew about that, that would be about the time you became her master wasn't it?"

"Yea, I guess you can call it perfect timing, I honestly think that was what pushed me over the edge of wanting to be civil to Poppy. I had seen the way Poppy acted around me, just like all of my so called friends and other students at school, terrified of doing something wrong. I didn't want anyone else acting like that around me, and when I heard about your group, I realized that I didn't have to treat her like my father did."

"Well it's an eye opener to see you being civil, to both of us."

"I guess I can be full of surprises if I want," Draco joked, trying to ignore the knot in his throat.

Hermione managed a shy small towards him before quickly dropping her gaze back to the book in front of her. Draco looked at her in amazement, had she just smiled at him? She was trapped in this house as a slave, and she still managed to smile? And at him no less; he was flabbergasted. To cover for his surprise, he quickly grabbed up a sandwich and started eating.

It was a few hours before they tired of reading, Draco standing up and stretching his sore back. Hermione yawned, sleepy from reading for so long without moving. Poppy came and took away the now empty plates and awaited further instructions.

"Malfoy, now that I'm here, what exactly is Poppy supposed to do? I mean, as your, slave, what I am supposed to do?"

Draco looked up at her, confused, "What do you mean?"

"Well I mean, if someone comes up here, what should I be doing? I need some kind of idea of what they think is expected of me."

"Oh, right, of course. For a moment I thought you meant you want to do work," Draco said, relaxing. "Umm, I guess you'd do most of what Poppy is in charge of, whatever demeaning work I can find."

"But doesn't that mean you wouldn't need Poppy anymore?"

"No, Poppy would still make the meals and do the laundry. I don't want you to leave the wing, so they know I still have use for her. Plus she goes to the stores for me and such. And someone has to be your mentor, I'm definitely not going to teach you how to clean."

"Would Master like me to show Miss the ropes?" Poppy asked.

"If Miss wants, would you be okay with that right now? Or would you want to do it maybe tomorrow?"

"I guess I should get started, give me time to sort through what I learned from the books. I think a lot of what's in those books could help the Order members out."

Draco nodded his head and watched as Poppy led Granger out of the library. He figured he'd stay out of their way, to not embarrass her more than she was. He picked up the book he had been reading and went to his bedroom, planning on relaxing.

"Would Miss like to change clothes?" Poppy inquired as she conjured cleaning supplies.

"Oh I suppose I should, I don't want these to get dirty. Plus I should get used to the uniform, I'll be wearing it soon enough," she mused with a shudder.

She walked over to her closet and pulled out the pale blue uniform; sighing with resignation as she undressed. She folded her clothes and lay then on the bed, stalling as long as she could. It felt like the moment she put on that uniform, she would be giving a part of herself up, that it would be something she couldn't take back. Taking a deep breath and shaking her head, she walked back over to the outfit, holding it up. It was just an outfit, it didn't mean anything, Draco said he wouldn't ask anything of her didn't he? So why was she volunteering to put this on and learn her chores? Her brow furrowed as she thought about the situation, could it be that she had been played? Maybe Malfoy knew she wouldn't respond to threats, so instead he tricked her, tried to befriend her. She started to feel like a fool, pink tinged her cheeks.

"Is Miss alright?"

Hermione threw down the uniform as her response, "No I am not, I am a witch, a brilliant witch, not some slave, especially not a slave to-to Malfoy!"

"But Miss, Master isn't treating you like a slave. Master wants to be nice to you, he is lonely. They ask horrible things of my Master, dreadful things. But Master is nice, he has told me stories about young Miss, nice stories. Master is not trying to trick you, Master wants to protect you, from the dark ones."

Hermione sniffed, trying not to cry at her predicament, "How can you be sure Poppy?"

"Because Master told me that I'm not to let you do hard work unless someone is watching. Poppy promised I would do all the work I always do, and not let Miss help."

"When did he tell you that Poppy?" she asked, incredulous.

"After I returned from shopping, I helped Master bring books up to the library, Master made me promise."

"Oh, thank you Poppy, thank you for telling me that," Hermione ran over and hugged the small elf.

Poppy squeaked in surprise and mumbled something about being surprised. Hermione went and picked up the uniform off the ground, determined to find a way out of here for both her and Draco. She quickly dressed, the skirt only coming down to mid thigh, but wasn't too tight; the shirt on the other hand only covered down to her belly button and she couldn't button the first two buttons. Hermione knew that although she did have curves, she wasn't overly endowed in the breast department; a fact that Hermione relieved over at that moment. As it was she was showing more cleavage than she was comfortable with, if her breasts were any bigger, it wouldn't have buttoned at all.

"I don't really see how this outfit makes sense to be cleaning in, I'm lucky to be able to bend over without ripping this skirt," Hermione mumbled under her breath as she picked up a bucket.

The pair started in the library, Poppy showing her how to quickly dust off the books, informing her that the bookshelves got cleaned once a week with wood polish. After they dusted the library, the pair moved into the sunroom. Poppy cleaned the carpets with a device that looked very similar to a vacuum, although it was completely silent, while Hermione cleaned all of the windows. She needed help with the higher windows, letting Poppy use a hover charm on her since Hermione couldn't use any magic.

"All that's left for now is the office, Poppy already did the bedrooms. Then you can have dinner with Master and change out of the cleaning uniform."

"Do you make the beds?"

"Yes Miss, I make the beds, clean the floors, the bathrooms. I also pick up any dirty laundry in the baskets. In the sitting room, I straighten cushions, clean the floors, and keep the cupboards stocked."

"All of that, in a day? As well as coming when Malfoy or I call you?"

"Yes Miss, Poppy is a good elf, she works hard for Master and Master treats Poppy well."

Hermione smiled as Poppy explained her duties, the little elf clearly proud of her jobs around the Manor. Opening the door, she let Poppy enter the office before her, wondering what they cleaned in here. A sharp gasp interrupted her thoughts and she looked up, straight into Draco's eyes.

Draco had heard the office door open and glanced up to see what Hermione needed, but the sight that met his eyes made him blush furiously. Hermione was wearing a skimpy pale blue outfit that left little to the imagination; his eyes immediately found her breasts, ample amounts of cleavage showing out of the top of her blouse. He couldn't help but gasp at the sight of her in those clothes, the way the top showcased her tone stomach, the flare of her hips. He pulled his gaze up to her face, noticed the blush on her cheeks, thinking she looked remarkably cute like that. Before either of them could speak, Poppy spoke up.

"Sorry Master, Poppy thought you were in your room. We just came to tidy up before dinner, is Master okay?"

Draco cleared his throat and tore his gaze away from Hermione's, "Yes, I'm alright. Feel free to tidy up, you won't be in my way, I'm just finishing up some figures for my father."

Hermione and Poppy nodded their heads in acknowledgement and started to clean the room. Poppy pulled out the vacuum again and Hermione opened the blinds so she could clean the windows. She tried to calm the blush on her cheeks, she just felt so naked in front of him; she knew the outfit was tight, nothing like the clothes Poppy bought for her. She'd just have to clean as fast as she could and then it was back into her other clothes. Hermione had noticed the blush on his cheeks before he looked away, she wondered what he had thought when he saw her in this. But at the same time, she knew she'd rather not know just what he thought of her, he just made her so nervous and she couldn't understand why.

"Poppy is making roast lamb with mint sauce for dinner, would Master and young Miss eat in the sitting room?" Poppy asked, interrupting Hermione's thoughts.

"Actually Poppy, I think we'll eat in the sunroom this evening," Draco suggested.

Poppy nodded and left the room, Hermione following behind to drop off the cleaning supplies. Poppy informed her that she'd leave the cleaning supplies in her bathroom cupboard in case she needed them. As soon as Poppy left to go prepare dinner, Hermione pulled the outfit off and hung it up in the closet. She really felt exposed while wearing it, more than she had thought was possible; did she really have to wear that when confronting the Death Eaters? The thought made her shudder and she quickly pulled on her clothes from earlier; she couldn't wait to shower before bed and wash off the residual feeling of obsequiousness. As she made her way to the sunroom, she realized just how hungry she was after an afternoon of light cleaning, she couldn't wait for dinner.

Draco couldn't help but look Hermione over as she left the room, eyes roaming to her rounded behind, admiring her strong legs. Dirty thoughts quickly clouded his mind and suddenly he was glad to be sitting alone at his desk; he contemplated taking a cold shower before dinner. Draco laid his head on his arms and sighed into the desk; if he wasn't careful his father was going to see right through him. Groaning slightly, Draco got up from his chair and calmed his mind, hoping he at least looked calmer than he felt.


	5. Loyalties

As Draco walked into the sunroom, he saw that Hermione was back in her regular clothes, much to his relief; he didn't think he would have been able to focus on dinner otherwise. He sat on one of the reclining chairs near the small table, Hermione having chose to sit on the long couch facing the windows, both looking out into the courtyard bathed in sunset colors.

"The garden used to be so full of life, Mother would tend to it every day; it was her escape from reality. But lately she hasn't had time to, or the will to. The Dark Lord comes by often, dropping in on his faithful servants, just to make sure they aren't neglecting their duties. The poor garden hasn't been tended to in ages and all of Mother's flowers are suffering," Draco mused aloud.

"Her garden is still pretty, the flowers just need a little love, but I'm sure your mother can bounce them back to their former glory," Hermione stated, looking at the garden. There were so many flowers down there, she didn't recognize half of them, but they were all so beautiful.

Draco smiled at the sentiment, hoping his mother could bounce back like the flowers, she was delicate just like them. Before he could dwell on his mother's predicament for too long, Poppy was back with dinner, the delicious aroma filling the room.

"Oh Poppy, that smells delicious, thanks you," Hermione gushed, mouth watering.

"Yes Poppy, I agree, you always cook a delicious meal."

"T-thank you sir and miss, is there anything else?"

"How did the cleaning go? Did you show Miss Hermione the ropes?"

"Of course Master Malfoy, we cleaned the library, this room, and your office. The bedrooms, sitting room, and the hallway were already done when we started."

"I'm glad to hear that, thank you for showing her Poppy, you can go now."

Poppy disappeared after flashing a smile and curtsying to her master. The pair ate in silence for awhile, Hermione focusing on her food and Draco lost in thought. It wasn't until Hermione cleared her plate that she decided to break the silence.

"Poppy told me you made her promise that I'm not supposed to do work around here. Why did you make her promise that?"

"Because, I don't want you to feel like an actual slave, you may be stuck here as a slave, but I refuse to treat you as one in private. I could have just ordered you to not do any chores, but if someone were to come in while I was away, it could get ugly. I didn't think Poppy would tell you that I made her promise though," Draco explained, a blush forming on his cheeks.

"But what if someone else asks her?" Hermione asked fearfully.

"Poppy is loyal to me; she knows how I feel about making you do anything, how I feel about you being bound to me. I confide a lot in Poppy and my mother in different ways, both have my wellbeing at heart. Poppy won't betray me; she's smart so of course she knows that my behavior is unbecoming of a Death Eater. All the same, I ordered her to keep quiet about what really happens in the wing, to lie to whoever asks her about your progress and work."

"If you knew she wouldn't betray you, why did you order her to lie?"

"Oh that's easy. I ordered her to lie so she wouldn't feel guilty about lying on her own. She would have lied regardless, but considering my parents are her former masters, it would be hard for her. By ordering her to do it, her conscience is safe, she likes me more than my father anyways. Any other questions?" Draco offered.

"Well, what if someone doesn't believe her, tries to make her tell the truth?"

Draco considered this for a moment before responding, "As an elf, she is loyal to her master, it is rare that an elf would disobey an order under any circumstance. Considering how much she cares for me, I doubt they'd torture poor Poppy to the point where she'd give them the truth, they think she is weak and wouldn't last long. And if they ask me to tell her to tell the truth, I've already taken care of that. I told her that only under one circumstance is it okay to tell the truth, even if I order her to. I have to give her the secret word for her to know it is safe, no secret word, no truth."

"Wow, you really have thought this out haven't you?"

"I have quite a few secrets that I want kept secrets. I know they'd think an elf would be a weak link, but they underestimate an elf that is treated properly by their master. I was once like them, thinking an elf obeyed orders blindly because it was their duty. But after I owned Poppy, and I was nice to her, I saw how she changed and realized that elves have true feelings and true loyalties."

Hermione watched Draco's face as he spoke about Poppy's loyalty and she could see how much he actually cared for her. It was heartwarming to see this side of him, she wondered how he'd be if he was brought into the Order, if he could learn to make friends, to care for other people as much as he does Poppy. She sighed inwardly, wishing there was something she could do for him, but her mind was drawing a blank. She couldn't even escape this house, let alone rescue Draco from Voldemort's grasp.

"Hey um Granger, remember I'm going out tomorrow, did you have a message for me to deliver, something short and easy to hide."

"Oh gosh, I forgot all about that, I'll be right back," she called over her shoulder as she ran to the office. Quickly pulling out ink and parchment, she sat at the desk wondering what she could write that would suffice. There was so much to say but so little room on the note; Hermione decided to keep it simple, just enough for the Order to know she was alive and to have them keep an eye out for more notes in the future.

_To the Order  
I'm still alive and I'll update you soon  
-Hermione_

She hoped that would suffice as she blew on the ink and tore the note from the rest of the parchment, heading back to Malfoy. Hermione couldn't help but fidget as she handed over the note for him to read, was he really going to be able to pass it on to and Order member?

"This looks good, they should immediately recognize your handwriting. Hopefully they don't do anything rash like try to come find you, especially if Potter or Weasley hear about it."

"Well I can't make any promises about those two but I'm sure the rest of the Order will stop them from doing anything stupid. Do you really think you can pass off the note? How do you know you're being followed by Order members?"

"I know I'll be able to pass the note off, but whether or not they realize it's a note is another story. And I'm being followed by a Weasley, of course I know he's an Order member; all that red hair, you'd think they'd take Polyjuice Potion at least."

"A Weasley? Do you know who?" Hermione asked eagerly.

"No, I don't recognize him so it's not the father, the twins, nor is it the annoying ex-Head Boy Weasley. But I honestly don't know how many of them there are, I just know he's older."

"Well I'm sure he'll notice if you drop the note, as long as you have his attention when you drop it. All of them know my handwriting so that's a plus. We'll just have to wait after that I guess," she finished dejectedly.

"Don't worry, I have a plan, the guy that watches me, he's really observant. He's not too careful about not being seen, but I guess he thinks I won't do anything rash, or that I'm blind," he added with a sneer. "But regardless of that, any piece of paper I may 'accidently' drop he'll definitely pick up on the off chance it's important. And if I don't see him, I'll postpone it; I don't want to take a chance that anyone else might pick it up."

"Do any Death Eaters follow you on your missions?"

"No, I'm very observant of my surroundings, only the Weasley bloke has been following me. Although I'm not really sure how he knows where I'll be, but at least he hasn't attacked me," Draco assured her.

Hermione nodded absentmindedly, wondering how his shadow did know where he'd be and what he'd be doing. Her eyes widened suddenly, could it be that Snape was telling them? But why would he do that, he was the one that killed Dumbledore, Harry had watched the whole thing. Draco couldn't bring himself to do it and in the end Snape did, and no one had seen him since. So how would he have even get in contact with the Order members, as far as she knew, all the Order members were wanting to get their hands on him.

"Hey, what's up?"

"I- sorry, I was just thinking about how they might know where you are. And how the same person is in charge of following you, although it might not be the same person now that I think about it."

"I know the Weasleys look alike but I can tell them apart, well not the twins but, you know," Draco assured her.

"No I mean, what if they were taking a Polyjuice Potion? So you always think it's the same person but really it's not?" she explained.

"That's an interesting thought; would members of the Order really do that?"

"I'm not sure, they never told me anything like that, that's just something I thought of as a possibility, you know, to lure you into a false sense of security," Hermione finished.

"The only thing I'd say that puts a hole in that theory is that he acts the same every time I see him, if it was someone different every time, wouldn't they act a little different?"

"Yea, that's a good point too."

"But that really is an ingenious tactic, you really are quite brilliant," Draco admitted.

Hermione blushed and looked down at her hands, her eyes widening suddenly, "You aren't going to tell your father about that right?"

"No, I wouldn't do that, don't worry Granger," he assured her, eyes downcast.

Hermione immediately saw the effect her words had on him, she had put her foot in her mouth. Before, she wouldn't have cared if he thought he was untrustworthy, but now, she wanted him to know that people are capable of trusting him; that he wasn't alone anymore.

"Oh, Draco I'm sorry, I didn't mean for it to-to sound like that. You've been nothing but kind to me while I've been here. Of course I'm rather surprised at it all, but I believe in forgiveness and that people can truly change. And I've seen the change in you, I can't deny it. I was just worried that somehow your Death Eater friends might hear about that idea and use it against us."

"Us?" Draco looked up at her, hopeful.

"Yea, all of us, in-including you; here you are, willing to try and help me, to pass on a message for me. You've made it clear that you don't want anyone else to suffer by the Dark Lord's hands. Even if you don't realize it, you're more on our side than his now."

"Really, you're including me? Even after everything I've done? You're willing to just include me on your side?" Draco asked, disbelief in his eyes.

"Yes Draco, I am," she reached over and covered his hand with hers. "And I'm willing, if you are, to talk with the other members of the Order about you joining us. We can protect you if you let us, Dumbledore wanted you to be safe, and no one can deny that he offered you protection and that you did not kill him in the end. I can't promise everyone will be eager to accept you, but I do, and I won't let you down. I promise."

Draco felt his eyes tear up at her sincerity and her promise to him. Someone was willing to go out on a limb for him, someone who wasn't his mother, someone who didn't **_have_** to love him. He tightened his fingers around hers, "Thank you that means so much, but what about my mother? She is as much a victim of all this as I am. Can you protect her too?"

"I'm sure the Order will welcome you both, although I'm sure they'll want information in exchange, if you and your mother are willing and able to discuss it."

"Yea, we aren't under any orders not to talk, we're assumed to be very loyal members, but really it's just my father. I can't say that I truly hate him, although I don't love him either, but he is the reason my mother is stuck in this world, and I was raised in his shadow. My mother doesn't actually have a Dark Mark you know."

"She doesn't? How is she in his inner circle then? Why does she stay? Does she believe what the Dark Lord says?"

"No, she doesn't, although she was raised to believe in Pureblood status, she doesn't believe that anyone not a Pureblood should die, magical blood is magical blood, it's special and should be celebrated. Purebloods are just, like the aristocrats of our world, so of course we're held to a higher standard. She stays because she cares for me, and doesn't want to risk punishment to me. How she gets away with not receiving a Dark Mark I'm really not sure. She's married to a loyal follower and her sister is one of the Dark Lord's fiercest generals. Although really, I suppose she doesn't do much as a Death Eater, she's just the wife of one. Only the most loyal get a Dark Mark, Greyback doesn't have one, so I suppose it's believable my mother wouldn't either."

"But, you do don't you?" Hermione asked quietly, already sure of the answer.

"Yes, I do, I got it the same night I accepted my mission, to k-kill Dumbledore. Once I got it, I knew my life was a mistake, I could feel the evil coursing through my veins. It was vile and it doesn't belong in my body, I feel violated. I already wasn't sure if what we were doing was right, but it has been the only life I've known. Up to that point, I was lying to myself, I was unsure. But then, in that moment, I became aware of how wrong it all was."

"Oh Draco, that's awful, just awful. I'm sorry you've had to go through all of this," she cried as she threw her arms around him.

Draco collapsed into her arms, feeling broken but no longer alone. He felt her hands rubbing his back, heard her murmuring words in his ear; it was all so overwhelming. Tears began to fall down his cheeks, his life was a mess, he had caused so much harm the past year, he wanted to take it all back but didn't know how. Draco let himself be comforted by the girl that he used to hate, letting the tears fall silently from his eyes.

Hermione felt her heart ache for Draco's predicament, if only he hadn't been born into this family, he might have been okay. Now he had all of these obstacles he had to overcome and he was only 17 years old. She knew her friends wouldn't accept him right away, they were both stubborn, and she knew their dismissal would be rough for Draco, but she would stand by him. He had decided he wanted to start righting his wrongs and for Hermione that was enough; it was the right choice to forgive him and help him step into the light. Although she had no idea how Mrs. Malfoy would react to all of this, she'd hope that her love for Draco would prove strong enough.

The pair of them stayed like that for a long time before Draco finally pulled away and wiped his eyes, "Sorry about that, it was all so unexpected. I should head to bed, I need to be clear headed for tomorrow, you should get some sleep too Hermione."

Draco stood up and offered her a hand, the two of them walking to Hermione's room. She turned and gave him another quick hug before whispering goodnight and closing her door. He stood for a moment at her door, wondering how someone could be so kind, especially to someone like him. A smile crept up on his face as he made his way to his room; he had made a true friend, with a Gryffindor. As he lay in bed, he couldn't stop smiling at the ceiling, remember her hands rubbing his back; she gave him so much comfort with just a small gesture. Despite the emotion turn the evening took, he quickly fell into a peaceful sleep.


	6. Betrayals

*Morning*

Draco grumbled as he sat up in bed, today he had to run another mission for Voldemort. He felt like his missions weren't really anything important but at the same time, Voldemort supposedly favored him so maybe they were important. Draco shuddered at the thought, knowing that what he was out doing might be hurting people. He rubbed his face as he walked to his closet and pulled out some robes.

"Poppy."

Pop. "Yes Master?"

"Can I have some eggs and toast please, I'll meet you in the kitchens when I'm done. Keep an eye out for Miss Hermione alright? I'm going to be going out for awhile and I don't want her getting caught off guard."

"Of course Master, right away." Pop.

Draco smiled softly, knowing that she'd be safe while he was gone. He quickly showered and dressed, heading to his office to grab a group of envelopes. He had five stops today so he shouldn't be gone too long, all he had to do was deliver them and be on his way. Too bad he never knew what was in the envelopes, but he knew better than to open them. Some of them were light and mostly likely contained letters of some sort but others were bulky and contained items. Draco headed down to the kitchens to eat as he wondered why he was reduced to a delivery boy; he assumed it was because this way they knew the letters weren't being intercepted. Quickly eating, he made doubled checked his packages, making sure he had Granger's note and his way to the apparition point and went on his way.

*Back At The Manor*

Hermione woke a few hours later, revitalized by the deep sleep she had. It was closer to noon that she had thought, she almost never slept in this late, and it felt good. As soon as that thought entered her mind she realized the absurdity of it, she had slept in and it felt good, and it had occurred while she was trapped in Malfoy Manor. Shaking her head she made her way to the bathroom to shower, making a mental note to really crunch the books today and find a way out of here. After dressing, she called for Poppy and asked if she could have bangers and mash for lunch and immediately headed for the library to start reading.

*Out and About*

Draco steadied himself as he finished Apparating to Diagon Alley. He glanced around, hoping to find his familiar shadow; it took him a few moments but he spotted the redhead leaning against a closed down shop a few blocks away. Knowing he had an audience he strode purposefully towards The Leaky Cauldron and disappeared inside. He quickly sat at the furthest table from the door, leaning in his chair so he could watch the door. It wasn't long before the redhead stole in and found a seat at the other end of the pub.

Draco lazily reached into his robe and pulled out Granger's note, hiding it behind the two Galleons he also pulled out. Waving the coins he signaled Tom that he wanted a drink; while Tom slowly made his way over to the intimidating wizard, he slipped the note into a napkin.

"What can I get for you young Master Malfoy?"

"Some mulled mead if you will Tom."

Tom bowed and quickly left the table, Draco looked over at his shadow and smirked; he knew he had to keep his attention, he didn't want him to miss the clue. Soon enough Tom was coming back, drink in hand, as he started to put the drink down, Draco raised his hand to stop him.

"Take this drink," Draco started, grabbing the drink, adding the napkin to the bottom, "over to the redheaded man in the corner if you would please," he finished, holding out the Galleons for Tom to take.

Tom looked at the drink warily, wondering if the wizard had managed to do something to it, before heading towards the other patron he had indicated. Draco watched Tom shuffle over there, once again catching the redhead's eye. He quickly ran his hand through his hair, blocking his face from the other patrons, and winked. Before the other wizard could react, Draco stood quickly and excited the pub, keeping his face a cool mask of indifference. He headed for his final stop, Cobb & Webb's to drop off his last letter then finally head home.

*Back in the Pub*

Tom placed the drink down on the wizard's table, not commenting on the drink and quickly walking away, afraid to be involved. Bill looked down at the drink, pulling out his wand, contemplating what to do. Malfoy had touched the drink but Tom's stance had prevented him from seeing if a wand was involved, he hadn't missed the wink the other wizard had given him before leaving but he wasn't sure what to make of it. Maybe this was all a ruse to distract him from his destination, which really wasn't that important to Bill. He quickly murmured a spell to reveal any jinxes or curses on the mug. There were no indicators but Bill wasn't ready to drop the mystery yet; he had known the younger wizard had been aware of his presence but knew nothing of his intentions. Sighing, Bill was about to leave the drink on the table before a realization hit him, Tom didn't hand out napkins with his drinks; the napkin had to come from Malfoy. Carefully pushing the mug off the napkin, he still didn't trust it, and gingerly picked up the napkin. Immediately he felt a piece of parchment between the folded layers of the napkin; his eyes widened at the implications of what it could be. He stuffed the napkin in his pocket and quickly left the pub, Apparating back to his cottage to investigate. He pulled the small piece of parchment out and opened it, quickly scanning the note, eye widening once he recognized the handwriting. He had to share this with the rest of the order right away, Apparating over to The Burrow to find his father.

*Back at the Manor*

Hermione quickly lost track of time as she poured through the books Malfoy had brought up the other day. She had finished her lunch and was snacking on some crisps, waiting for Malfoy to get back to ask if he had been able to deliver her note. Earlier she had marked some pages she'd like to go over with him, they had mentioned enslaving a person by use of a cursed object. Voldemort hadn't used any object to bind her but if they could study what curse was used on the objects and how to remove it, maybe it would help her. Stretching on the couch, Hermione realized she needed a break, looking at her watch she wondered just how much longer Draco would be gone. Hermione was jerked out of her thoughts by a sudden pop as Poppy appeared in front of her, eyes wide.

"Hurry Miss Hermione, Mister Malfoy is coming," Poppy warned her, pulling on her hand.

"What, why is he coming here now, I won't have time to change, what do I do?" Hermione squealed.

Poppy snapped her fingers and Hermione felt her outfit change; looking down she saw that Poppy had swapped her clothes for her uniform. Next to her was the bottle of window cleaner and a rag; Hermione caught on quickly, picking up the items and running to the windows. Poppy produced her own rag and began dusting the bottom shelves of the bookcases when they heard the double doors open. Hermione wasn't sure what he would be expecting, but she didn't have long to find out.

Lucius Malfoy strode into the library, quickly finding Hermione by the windows, a dark glint in his eyes. Hermione turned to face him, attempting to look nonplussed but her knees trembled slightly.

"Well well, that outfit does you justice Mudblood, I never would have thought," he sneered as he took a few steps closer. "Why don't you take a break from your work, I want to see how much progress my son has made."

Hermione stood up straighter, shoulders back, "I don't have to do anything you tell me to, Death Eater!"

"_Crucio_," Lucius sneered, pointing his wand at her.

Hermione crumbled to the ground, screaming at the top of her lungs, curling into a ball.

"Mister Malfoy, you are not to hurt Miss!" Poppy demanded, pointing to the older Malfoy

"Poppy, leave us, now!" he demanded.

Poppy stood her ground, knowing she wasn't his to order around anymore. Lucius saw the defiance in the elf's eyes; he pulled up his wand, ending the curse on Hermione, pointing his wand at the elf.

"Poppy, if you want to continue to serve young Draco, you will leave here now and go to the kitchens," he said dangerously.

Hermione say the look in the man's eyes, she feared for Poppy's life more than her own. "Poppy go," she said quietly.

Poppy turned to look at the young witch, eyes wide but nodded her head, understanding. With a pop the elf was gone, leaving the young witch to the other man's mercy. Once the elf was gone, Lucius bent and grabbed Hermione by the wrist, cruelly yanking her to her feet. She whimpered in pain at his grasp, bringing a sneer to his face.

"Come on Mudblood, I've got a job for you," he told her, dragging her into Draco's bedroom.

Hermione's eyes widened at his implied threat, struggling feebly against his strong grip. As they entered the room, Lucius closed the door and pinned her against it, one hand curled in her hair and the other caressed her bare stomach.

"You know, I thought Draco was stupid to let you have a few personal items, what kind of slave would need to look nice, but he was right, your skin feels so soft and delicious."

Hermione whimpered, wishing she hadn't put on any lotion this morning after her shower as her captor leaned in and rubbed his face against her neck breathing deep. This couldn't be happening, she didn't belong to Lucius, he had no right to touch her, and she told him as much.

"I see Draco needs to work a little harder with your attitude, Mudblood, you should respect us Purebloods. We are your superiors after all," he commented with a nasty sneer.

With that he spun her away from the door and forced her onto the bed. She tried to scoot away from him but he grabbed her ankles and pulled her back. When she tried to strike him he grabbed her wrist and forced them over her head, leaning over her now.

"You are very feisty, maybe that's why my son likes you, I'll admit it is a treat from all the subdued Muggleborns I've had in the past," he revealed before smashing his lips onto hers.

Hermione squirmed and twisted, trying to get out from under him, she'd rather die than to let this happen, where was Draco? Her thoughts were interrupted when Lucius viciously tore his hands down the front of her top, ripping away the buttons, exposing her bra. Hermione let out a scream, not knowing what else to do; shouldn't she be stronger than this?

Lucius took his free hand and backhanded her before climbing on top of the bed, still pinning her wrists with his hand, his other roughly grouping her breasts. He roughly bit into her neck, ripping at her still healing neck, blood beginning to flow. Hermione screwed her eyes shut at the pain, praying for this to end, when a pop outside the bedroom door was heard.

"Master, a-are you t-there sir?" a voice squeaked.

"What do you want Dusky?" Lucius growled.

"You said to let you know when young Master Draco returns, he has just Apparated outside the gates."

"Alright fine, go back to your work."

A pop answered them, Lucius swearing before violently kissing Hermione once more, she could taste her own blood on his lips. As he climbed off the bed, she tried to sit up, only to hear Lucius whisper a curse at her and she was screaming, the pain firing through her body again.

"We'll continue this later Mudblood," he sneered, straightening his robes as he fled the room.

Hermione panted, tears falling from her eyes and a sobbed escaped her lips. She crawled towards the head of the bed and curled up under the covers, just wanting to disappear, feeling ashamed. That was where Draco found her when he came up to his room ten minutes later, wracking sobs coming from under his sheets.


	7. Rage

When Draco came home, he could feel a dark ambiance in the house. He was about to make his way upstairs to check on Granger when his mom called him into the dining room. Draco tried to not appear impatient with his mom but he wasn't overly invested in helping her plan for one of her gatherings. He had no idea what kind of food the Death Eaters and their wives would want to eat; he tried to convey that to her in the most polite way possible. Narcissa Malfoy scolded her son for not making more of an effort at learning more about his fellow Death Eaters before dismissing him.

Running up the stairs, he called Poppy to him, hoping to hear if there was any trouble before he found Granger. When Poppy appeared in front of him, he saw the terrified look in her eyes, he skidded to a stop, afraid to ask what happened while he was gone. Poppy just grabbed his hand and pulled him into the wing, taking him to his bedroom door; she started wringing her hands together, knowing her master was going to be livid.

"Poppy, what happened? Where is Miss Hermione?" he asked her softly.

In response she just pointed towards his door, silently urging him to go in. Slowly Draco faced the door and pushed it open, sweeping the room in search of his ward. At first he didn't notice anything out of place, but then he heard a loud sob and spotted drops of red on his white comforter. He quickly ran to his bed, seeing Hermione's hair curled upon his pillow, the rest of her hidden from view.

"H-Hermione? What happened, are you alright?"

She didn't respond, just curled up tighter, grasping the covers in her delicate hands. She felt him slowly reach up and grip the covers, softly trying to pull them down so he could see her face; she didn't want him to see her like this, even if she was hiding in his bed.

"Go away," she mumbled weakly through her sobs.

"Hermione, talk to me, I want to help, please?"

The word please broke through the despair she was feeling, she couldn't push Draco away, not when he was trying to help; besides he was the only one who could confront his father. She let go of the blanket, waiting for him to pull them down. She sniffled and kept her eyes closed, not wanting to see the look in his eyes when he first saw her. She heard his sharp intake of breath as the covers folded back, revealing her state.

As Draco softly pulled the covers back, he slowly took in her puffy eyes, shut tight, along with her bruised lips and cheek. His eyes opened wider as he pulled the blanket down further, seeing the blood still weakly flowing from her neck, the dark bruises already forming on her neck and wrists; finally he took in the state of her shirt, torn open and exposing her chest. He couldn't help but gasp, unsure how this could have happened, had one of Voldemort's men come in here to assault her? Quickly gathering her up in his arms, he shifted on the bed so she was laying on his chest, hands rubbing her back soothingly.

"Come on, let's get you in the shower, warm water will do you good," Draco implored, trying to get her to move. He looked over at Poppy, noticing tears flowing from her large green eyes. He motion for her to start the shower as he slowly moved Hermione to the edge of the bed.

"Come on, the shower will help, Poppy is getting it warm for you, is that okay Hermione?"

She sniffled before answering, afraid to speak, "I don't think I can walk."

"I'll carry you then, how about that? Let me just take off my robe," he offered, easing her back onto the bed. He quickly shed his robe, revealing a Muggle T-shirt and jeans underneath. "Alright, are you ready?"

Hermione nodded her head against his shoulder and he placed his arms under her waist and knees. She stayed curled up in a tight ball against his chest, never once opening her eyes as they moved to the shower. He gingerly maneuvered her in his arms so he could open the door to the shower; when he tried to let her down, she whimpered and clung to his shirt.

"Okay, okay, I'll stay with you. Poppy, can you make a bench in here so we can sit please?"

"Yes Master!"

With a snap of her fingers she brought up one of the wooden benches from the sunroom. Draco nodded his head gratefully and Poppy left to go make some dinner for the two of them. He carefully walked over to the bench and sat down, his back to the water as not to surprise the girl in his arms. Slowly shifting his body, he turned so he was now straddling the bench, lowering her down between his legs. He wrapped both his arms around her torso, pulling her close to him, rocking her slightly; worried that she had been so quiet.

"Can we move closer?" he heard her whisper.

"Of course, of course, just one second," he promised as he slowly pulled himself from her grasp so he could shift the bench. He also moved the shower head to cover more of their bodies with the warm water before sitting back down and hugging her again. He started rubbing her back as her sobs started up again, unsure of what to say to her; he hadn't even thought about the fact they were both fully dressed in the shower.

"It was horrible," Hermione whispered after a few long moments, finally relaxing in the warm water.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I-I was sitting in the library, reading through the books that you had brought up. I found something that might be helpful and I marked it in the book. But then Poppy appeared out of nowhere and told me Mister Malfoy was coming and I had to hurry," Hermione explained in a rush, the words pouring out of her now.

Draco stiffened at the mention of his father, had he really come upstairs to check on her, knowing he wasn't home?

"She changed me into my outfit to save me time and I grabbed up the cleaning supplies and moved to clean the windows. He came into the library, telling me that the outfit did me justice and calling me a Mudblood. So of course I stood up to him, telling him that I didn't have to prove anything to him."

"What did he do then?" Draco urged gently, sensing her pause.

"He performed the Cruciatus Curse on me."

Draco went rigid, his eyes seeing red; he took a deep breath to calm himself, not wanting to yell and scare her more.

"How bad was it?"

"It was really bad, although I guess not as bad as your crazy aunt. Poppy tried to defend me, reminding your father that he wasn't to harm me. But he threatened her, saying if she wanted to keep serving you she'd leave. So I told her to leave, I didn't want anything to happen to her; I at least knew he wouldn't kill me, but he might have killed her," Hermione shivered at the thought.

"I can't believe that bastard would do something like this!" Draco growled low in his throat.

"Well after Poppy left, he pulled up off the ground and dragged me into your room, where he pinned me against your door, he said I had a job to do," she continued quietly, starting to shiver.

Draco rubbed her arms as she continued, "He told me that you were right in letting me have personal items, that my skin was so soft and, and de-delicious. But I told him he had no right to touch me, I wasn't his; he didn't take that too well, saying that you needed to work on my attitude because I should respect Purebloods. That's when he forced me on-onto the bed, and I tried to scoot away from him, but he grabbed my ankles, then pinned my wrists when I tried to hit him.

Hermione couldn't help but sob as she recalled everything that happened, "He said that you must like me feisty and that it was a treat compared to the Mudbloods he'd been with lately. That's when he kissed me, hard." She raised her hands to lightly touch her lips, lost in the memories.

"After that he ripped my top and I screamed, not being able to get away from him, I should be stronger than this!"she argued vehemently.

"Shhh, it's alright, you tried, my father is just a monster, he's strong and you had no way to protect yourself, no wand, I wasn't here for you," Draco paused.

"It's not your fault, it's like you said, he's a monster, there's no telling what he might have done if you were here," she moved her fingers from her lips to her cheek. "He slapped me across the face when I screamed, then he climbed on top of me, groping me. He bit my neck, tearing open my older wound, it hurt so bad, it still does."

Draco cradled her head to his chest, wanting to take all her pain away; he had to find her a way out before things got even worse.

"Shortly after that another elf was outside your room, you father called him Dusty? I don't remember, something like that. He had the elf come to warn him when you had returned to the manor, I guess so you wouldn't catch him. He kissed me again, my blood on his lips. When he stood, I tried to scoot away from him again, wanting to be as far away from him as possible. He cursed me again, worse than last time but not as long. Then he left, telling me we'd continue it later. I crawled under your covers and just cried, I don't know how long it was before you came in."

"I'm going to have to have a serious talk with my father; I have no idea what he was thinking. I am so sorry you had to go through all of that."

"I think I'll be okay, there was no lasting harm done, bruises heal."

Draco chuckled, loving her for her spirit, "Are you ready for supper?"

Hermione looked up at him, a slight smile on her lips, one that managed to reach her eyes. She nodded her head and rubbed her tummy. As he stood up and held out a hand for her, it hit her that he was fully dressed, his clothes soaked through.

"Oh Draco, your clothes," she looked down feeling embarrassed, only to notice he was still wearing shoes. "Oh, your shoes too?"

"It's quite alright, clothes can be washed and shoes can be dried, it's not like these are my only pair of shoes, nor are they my favorites," Draco chuckled, pulling her gently off the bench and turning off the water. He took his shoes off and emptied them in the shower before stepping out to get Hermione a towel; he didn't want her to get cold in her wet clothes.

Hermione gratefully wrapped the fluffy towel around her as she finally took in his shower, amazed.

"Your shower is **_huge_** Draco, there are three showerheads in here. No wonder there was room for a bench, I hope it's not ruined," she said looking down at the wood.

"It'll be fine, oh and the awesome part about this shower is if you position the showerheads just right, you can sit in the middle of the floor and just let the water massage your muscles. Come on, let's get you out of those clothes, Poppy laid out some nice warm clothes for you, freshly dried."

Draco had a towel draped over his shoulders, not really concerned with drying off just yet. He held Hermione's hand as he escorted her to her room, giving her support. She blushed as she closed the door to change, letting him know she'd meet him in the sitting room. As Draco walked back to his room to change into dry clothes, he ran his hands through his hair, wondering just what he was going to say to his father. He almost slammed his door in his silent rage.

Hermione laid her outfit over the edges of the tub, not want to get the floor wet, she had no idea what she was going to do about the missing buttons but she didn't even want to look at her shirt; it still reminded her of earlier. Was she going to be able to face Lucius again after what he did? Would he say anything about it or would he just try to pick up where he left off? Hermione paled at the thought, knees shaking; she thought she was going to collapse to the bathroom floor when Poppy appeared next to her, steadying her. Using Poppy for support, Hermione was able to make it to the sitting room and sit on one of the couches to wait for Draco.

When Draco appeared a few minutes later, he found Poppy sitting with Hermione so she wouldn't be alone. He quickly sat on her other side, wanting to give her comfort but not knowing how. Hermione immediately leaned on his shoulder, wanting to feel his warm body against hers and take comfort from it. Draco immediately wrapped his arm around her, pulling her closer and relaxing.

"I've brought up soup and crackers for dinner, warm soup is good for bad days," Poppy informed them, pointed to the bowls on the table.

"Thanks Poppy, this is great."

Hermione pulled the bowl closer to her, letting the warm steam wash over her face. She dipped a few crackers in the soup, absentmindedly nibbling at them; Draco sat back and watched over her, worried about the faraway look in her eyes.

"Hey Draco, can I ask you a question?"


	8. We Need A Plan

"Always."

"How was it that Poppy was able to warn me that your dad was coming to see me?"

"Well, before I left, I told her to keep an eye out for you, you know to keep you safe. Elves have a lot of magical abilities, more than I ever knew about. She probably put up some kind of wards on the stairs to alert to someone coming this way."

"Really? That's amazing, I knew elves had strong magic but I'm surprised. Poppy really is amazing isn't she?"

"Yes, she is. Those wards must have given her enough time to warn you and get you dressed. I can always depend on her, although I should have known my father would come looking for you. I had no idea he'd do something like that but of course he'd come check on you. I'm glad I came home when I did, before it went any further," Draco whispered.

The pair finished dinner in silence, happy in each other's company. Hermione tried to think of a way to tell Draco what was on her mind, it was only 2 more days until she was going to be demonstrated to the Death Eaters. She could barely handle Lucius, what would a group of Death Eaters want to see from her? She highly doubted they'd want to watch her clean the house, that seemed a little too tame; maybe she'd have to serve them a meal? Letting out a deep sigh, she slumped back into the couch unsure what was going to happen to her.

Draco watched as she laid back on the couch, wondering what was on her mind. Suddenly he remembered the good news, sitting forward excitedly.

"Hermione, I totally forgot to tell you, I was able to pass off your note, the Weasley was following me again today like I thought."

"He was? What happened?" Hermione asked, light coming back to her eyes.

"Well I was dropping off some packages like I was supposed to, and I waited until I had one package left. I arrived at Diagon Alley and there he was, like he knew it was my last stop. I went into The Leaky Cauldron, waiting for him to follow me. I slipped your note into a napkin and ordered a drink; When Tom came to give me the drink, I slipped the napkin under the drink and told him to give it to the redheaded fellow. Of course Tom was suspicious but I gave him a few Galleons and he knew better than to deny me, he probably just hoped he wouldn't get in trouble for it. I managed to catch Weasley's eye and winked at him, hoping he'd figure there was something up with the drink. I didn't stay, I figured that would be too risky; I don't know for sure if he found the note but I hope so."

Hermione's eyes widened as she took in what he was saying. Someone in the Order probably knew she was alive still, surely a plan was starting to form. She smiled at Draco, feeling relief at her predicament. But the relief was short lived, what if that plan included storming the Manor to try and rescue her?

"Hey, what's going on in that brilliant mind of yours?"

Hermione blinked, realizing he was talking to her, "Well, at first I was relieved but then, what if the Order tried to come here and free me?"

"Well, first I think the Order is smarter than that, I mean the Death Eaters have only managed to capture a few members-"

"You-you said the Death Eaters, not we, do you realize that?" Hermione interrupted.

"I did?"Draco asked bewildered, unsure what that meant.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt you, please continue."

Draco smiled at her and nodded his head, "None of the Order members captured have given anything up. You obviously pick strong and brave members to join you, it's quite the organization. No one is going to come storm the Manor, it would be a suicide mission really. They'll wait, wanting more information before deciding anything; you're too important for them to make a half-assed decision. I'm sure I'll be approached the next time I go out, I'm not really sure all of what I can tell them about all this, I mean, that's not really a short conversation, 'Oh hi, I'm Draco, a known Death Eater, Hermione Granger, most brilliant witch of our age, is now my slave and trapped at the Manor, how do you do?' Yea, somehow I don't think that will go over well."

"Well, not with that attitude Draco," she chided.

Draco couldn't help but chuckle at the professor-like tone she had. "Well what do you think I should say then, Miss Professional?"

"Well, I guess it depends on who contacts you, and I'll give you another note to take with you," Hermione told him, thinking fast. She stood up and start pacing, brain snapping to action, "If it was Bill or Charlie, they are the two older Weasley's you haven't met, they'd almost immediately take the note to Arthur, and go from there. I'm not sure if Arthur would be the one to meet you or if it might be someone else, I'm not even sure if they'd try to talk with you straight out or try to alert you to a message, like the one you sent them."

Draco watched her pacing, wondering if this was how Potter and Weasley used to feel during their adventures at school, "Okay, well like you said, it all depends on how they react. So I'll have another message from you, they'll approach me one way or another. But what should I tell them when we finally do get to the speaking part?"

"Well, I'll start by telling them you are my only ally in the here, hopefully they won't treat you too harshly-"

"Hopefully they'll believe it, I mean, they might just assume I made you write it," Draco interrupted thoughtfully.

"Hmm, good point. They might even make you take Veritaserum, although I suppose that would work in your favor, you **_are_** my ally in this house. Although I'm not sure what else they may try to force out of you. Generally I don't think they'd be cruel to you but um well, your family and the Weasley's haven't exactly gotten along, especially after," Hermione trailed off.

"After what?" he prodded gently.

"Well remember our second year, the whole Chamber of Secrets thing? Well um, your father was kind of responsible for it really. He gave Ginny Vol- You-Know-Who's old diary. It turned out to be a Horcrux, do you know what that is?"

"Yea, my father told me about those a few months ago, after the Dark Lord mentioned it to my aunt. How did my father have the diary?"

"Well being a Death Eater it's not that surprising, although why he gave it to a student, let alone Ginny I have no idea. I'm not sure if he was ordered to or if he just thought it would be fun. Hell, I'm not even sure he knew how dangerous it was, it's not like I got the chance to ask him. But Arthur and his family know he was behind it. I can't imagine they've forgotten it, Ginny is their only girl and youngest child," Hermione explained.

"Wow, my father never ceases to amaze me, I really wouldn't be surprised if he did know what it was, although why he'd hand it out I don't know. So I might not receive the warmest welcome, good to know," Draco grimaced.

"Well I'm hoping they'll read my note before doing anything too drastic. I could put that you are trying to help me, you offered to pass on the note for me. They can' ignore that, you did pass on the note, and I am alive, although, I guess they have no way to know that."

"I guess we'll have to convince them, I'm okay taking Veritaserum if that's the only way they'll believe me. I am trying to help you, I have no reason to hide that; what else can you put in the note that might convince them?"

"I'll have to tell them to let you come back to the Manor, I have no doubt your father will kill me if they do anything to you. So I'll put you are helping me, you want to come over to our side, in exchange for information, and that it is important you come back to the Manor unharmed. And that I'll be in contact, that you are the only means of communication between us. It will all work out I'm sure."

"Well it all sounds good so far, so will you please sit, your pacing is making me nervous," Draco pleaded.

Hermione blushed, not realizing that she had been pacing the whole time, "Well, I'm actually kinda nervous too, there is something else on my mind." Hermione sat next to Draco, hands in her lap, trying not to fidget.

"What's on your mind?"

"Well, after what almost happened early, I've had a lot on my mind. I mean, we have 2 more days until I'm supposed to parade around like a semi-broken slave girl. I have no idea what they expect of me, what they'll want you to prove; it's quite nerve wracking."

"But you know that I'm not going to hurt you right? I mean, I might have to-to hit you, but I promise it won't be hard. Or I may say some nasty things, but you'll know I'm not serious right?" Draco asked, eyes full of concern.

"I know you won't mean it, that's not what I'm worried about either. I'm, oh God this is hard," Hermione moaned, face turning red. "Ca-can I ask you a favor?"

Draco took in the worried, nervous look on her face, her fidgeting hands, wondering what she may ask.

"Of course you can, I'll do my best, whatever the favor may be."

"I-I was wondering if-"

Poppy suddenly Apparated into the room, interrupting her, "Excuse me Master but Mistress Malfoy wishes to speak with you, she says it is urgent."

"Okay Poppy, I'll be right there, stay with Miss Hermione okay. I'm sorry, I'll be right back, I promise I'll listen when I get back," Draco told her, leaving the room.

Hermione breathed a sigh of relief, this was going to be hard than she thought. It was just a simple question, why couldn't she just ask it? But it was so embarrassing, her face was still red. She fell over on the couch, groaning into the cushions.


	9. Serious Conversations

Draco quickly marched into his mother's sitting room, finding her reading one of her books. She looked up she he sat next to her, smiling at her son.

"Draco, how are you?"

"I'm good Mother, are you well?"

"As well as to be expected," she admitted, giving him a sad smile. "I asked you her because, I'm concerned, your father told me that he visited the girl today."

"Yea, I've heard," Draco spat out.

"Now Draco, that's not an appropriate tone to take in front of your mother," she admonished.

"Sorry Mother."

"Now, from what I heard Lucius say, that girl still has a lot of work to be done, are you sure you'll be ready by Friday?"

"Mother, did Father tell you what happened with her?"

"No, he never finds it necessary to give me the details, you are fully aware of this," Narcissa reminded him, raising an eyebrow. She knew her son would tell her about her husband's secrets.

"Well, he tried to force himself on her, and the only reason he wasn't successful is because I came home. Hermione was a complete mess when I found her; he said she was feisty, and that it was a treat compared to the other, girls, he's had in the past. He blatantly waited until I wasn't home to watch over her."

"Draco, you are lucky I care for you more than anyone, and that I cast a Silencing Charm."

"I felt it when I walked into it, or else I would have cast one first."

"You must be careful, you are aware you called her Hermione are you not? That makes it seem as though you care for this girl," Narcissa warned.

"Mother, you know how I've felt the past few years, especially after I received the Mark. You know I can't treat her like they expect. But she will be ready by Friday, I'm not concerned about that. Although there is something more serious I want to discuss with you, do you want to hear it now?"

"Yes, you father has left again, so it is safest to tell me now."

"Well, I've done something possibly stupid but very liberating. I passed on a message to the Order for Granger, they know she's alive. She believes she can get them to protect us, Mother, this is our chance to get out, neither of us believes in what is happening here," Draco whispered despite the charm.

"Are you certain Draco? That is a rather dangerous idea."

"Yea, I'm not sure what is going to happen yet, I'll know more once I go out on Thursday, I'm certain someone will approach me then. Once I get more information I'll share it with you, are you okay with all of this?"

"Draco, I've wanted the very best for you since you were born, and I know this life is not the best for you. Being someone's blind follower, that's no life; you are a Pureblood, you stand on your own two feet and take charge of your life. You alerting the Order to Granger's predicament, which is the most take charge thing you've done since getting your mark. I'm proud of you son, you've finally realized where you want to be. I wish to help however I can, although I can't promise I can go with you, I'll make sure you get there with Hermione."

Draco gave her a grateful smile, his mother was so understanding, he never fathomed how she survived his father all these years.

"I do have a favor to ask of you, would you be able to watch after Hermione when I leave on Thursday, I don't want anything else to happen to her and Poppy can only do so much."

"Of course I will, she doesn't deserve to have something like that happen to her, what are you thinking?"

"Actually I was hoping you could have her help you with the garden. I could pretend to order her to be out there, since I know you love the flowers so much and you haven't been able to care for them like before. I think it would be good for both of you, although you'll have to be mindful of anyone watching," Draco offered.

Narcisse smiled at her son, "That's a wonderful idea, I'd really enjoy that. I'm sure she will as well. Now run along and figure out what you're going to do about that meeting on Thursday."

"Thanks Mother, I love you."

"I love you too."

Draco stood and kissed his mother on her cheek before leaving her to her book. He was relieved she was on board, he'd make sure she was protected. Now to tell Hermione the news, and find out what favor she wanted from him. When he came back, he found her in the office, sitting in his chair with a quill in her mouth. He flashed back to his memories of her at Hogwarts, in the library, she often looked just like she did now.

"What are you working on there Curlicue?"

Hermione looked up, what had he called her? "Curlicue?"

Draco chuckled, "Yea, that was the first thing that pops into my head when I think of you, well besides Gryffindor Princess, and I figured you wouldn't take too kindly to being called Princess, given their history of being damsels in distress."

"I've never, gotten a nickname like that before, it's always been bookworm, I think I like it," she admitted with a blush. "You can even call me Cue for short. Can I come up with a nickname for you?"

"Y-you want to? Really? I think that would be great," Draco blushed, he'd never had anyone do that for him before. Was this what it was like to have friends?

"I already have some ideas, but I'm not sure yet, I'll let you know okay?" Hermione told him with a smile. "Oh, I never answered your question, I'm working on what to write for the Order."

Draco came and stood behind her, looking over her shoulder at the parchment. She hadn't written much, most likely trying to find the right way to word everything. He looked down at her hair, loving the way it curled, no longer frizzy and uncontrolled, her skin was a beautiful light tan color, contrasting his own alabaster skin. She looked up at him, her mocha eyes seeking out his grey ones.

"Can you help me write it? I really don't know how to word it, I'm actually kind of nervous, I don't want it to sound like I was forced to write it you know?"

Draco had to blink a few times before he registered what she had said. "Yea, I can help, so far you have that I'm trying to help you escape, that's a good start. Let's see, then you can say something along the lines of how I want to help the Order, I want to protect you from my family."

Hermione looked up at him, seeing a shift in his eyes, almost as if he were trying to tell her that, not what to write. She smiled at him, knowing his words were sincere, turning back to the parchment to include what he said. The more the Order understood that he wasn't trying to be the enemy the better. She had to beseech them as much as she could with her words until she could be there in person; Draco couldn't risk being taken, he had to come back to the Manor to avoid suspicion. He had to come back to protect her.

Together the two of them managed to come up with a reasonable note to pass on. Hermione stood up from the desk and yawn, the day taking a toll on her.

"You must be tired, head to bed, you can tell me what you wanted tomorrow. When I leave Thursday, I'll be leaving you with my mother. She knows how I feel about you, and what happened with my father as well. She'll make sure no one will hurt you, although for appearance sake, she might be a little cold towards you. But you'll be out taking care of her garden, I'm sure you'll be happy to get outside. Let's get you to bed, come on."

Draco led her back to her room, wishing her a goodnight before making his way to his room. Hopefully tomorrow will be drama free so he could better prepare for Thursday. He also needed to prepare for Friday, what would they be expecting of him? He hoped he'd be able to pass whatever test they had for him, he couldn't risk them hurting Hermione just because he wasn't prepared.

*Wednesday Morning*

Draco let Hermione sleep in, he knew she had something on her mind and hoped that by sleeping in she'd be able to work out whatever it was. He knew she was strong and he hoped that what his father had done wouldn't affect her in the long run. It seemed no matter how hard he tried, people would always get hurt by his family. To take his mind off of everything, Draco decided to head to the library and look through the books Hermione had mentioned. He was shocked when he saw her small body curled up on one of the couches, a light blanket draped over her. When had she woken up? Or had she come in here to seek comfort, unable to fall asleep?

Quietly stepping up to the couch, Draco watched her sleep, she looked so relaxed in those moments. Reaching down, he pulling the open book out of her hands, looking at what she was reading. There was a slip of parchment between the pages that she must have been using as a bookmark, Draco moved it out of the way so he could read. She had found a passage mentioning the use of an enchanted bracelet to for someone to do your bidding. Once the bracelet was put on, the 'slave' had to carry out any orders the owner gave them; they couldn't harm the owner, nor lie to them and only the owner could remove the piece of jewelry. Draco remembered seeing a bracelet in his father's hidden study, where they had kept a lot of dark artifacts, he wondered if this was one of those bracelets.

Intrigued by the information, he sunk down onto the couch, sitting in the curled space made by her stomach; he was unaware he was sitting so close to her. The warmth from his body and shift of the couch roused Hermione from her sleep. She opened her eyes to find herself in the library, having forgotten she fell asleep there. Blonde hair caught her attention, she looked over to find Draco sitting on the couch with her absorbed in a book.

"Are you reading about the bracelet?" Hermione asked, stifling a yawn.

Draco jumped slightly at the break of silence, realizing he had woken her, "Oh sorry, I was reading and didn't think before I sat. But yea, I am reading about the bracelet, I'm wondering if we have one in the house somewhere actually."

"Really?"

"Yea, my father has a bracelet in one of his studies and there are a lot of dark artifacts in there. It could really be anything, I've never asked what it did, but maybe it's one of these."

"That's a scary thought, although I guess it's good that it's not in use right now."

"Yea, but if it was, it would be a lot easier to let you go; maybe that's why it's not being used," Draco mused. "It would be too easy to get away from."

"What do you mean, I didn't read too far into that book before I fell asleep," Hermione explained.

"Well, the bracelet will only work for someone who is pure of blood, in order to use the bracelet, the owner must offer up some of their blood. If the bracelet recognizes them as pure, the bracelet will open, ready to be used. And once it is closed, it needs the blood of its owner to be released; I'm not sure how you would pass on the bracelet to someone else, I haven't finished reading."

"So if that was being used, all I'd have to do was get some of your blood and I'd be free?" Hermione asked, wanting to clarify.

"That's what it sounds like, although you wouldn't be allowed to hurt me, so you'd have to figure something out. Or I could just give you freedom, clearly, if that was how we enslaved you."

"Well they did use your blood to bind me to you, I'm guessing so the spell would know who I was being bound to. I looked up what I could about the incantation, part of it sounded like _nexi nexum_ which is Latin for enslave or bind. I also found _coniunxi_ which means to connect in blood."

"I think the last part was something like, ave- aveum maybe, I'll admit I wasn't paying attention to what was being said, just what was happening. What does that mean?"

Hermione quickly sat up and looked through the books on the table, finding the one with Latin translations. Opening the book to the A section, the pair began looking for aveum or anything close it it.

"Oh, here it is: _aevum_ also _aevus_ meaning eternity or lifetime…" Hermione trailed off, did that really mean she'd be stuck like this forever?

* * *

A/N: Hope everyone is enjoying the story =) just wanted to say, I'm not good with Latin, so I'm not sure if I was using it properly, I'm not sure about the suffixes and everything so I apologize for any mistakes I made. Hope it doesn't take away from the story. Ha, I think this is my first a/n in this story, so we'll just pretend nothing happened and continue on with the story!


	10. Confessions

"Do you think that we can come up with a counter-curse for this? I mean, I haven't made many original spells, have you?"

"Well, I have come up with a few, nothing really complicated though, nor powerful. And this counter-curse is going to have to be powerful if it's going to work," Hermione admitted, blushing.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at that, you are quite brilliant," Draco praised, suddenly noticing how close they were, looking at the same book.

"Do you think we could come up with a spell? I mean, you've been really nice and all but, I'd rather not be magically bound to someone the rest of my life, at least not at 17," Hermione joked, trying to hold off her fear.

"Yea, that would be something wouldn't it, the Gryffindor Princess bound to the Slytherin God at such a young age. Even marriages can be terminated easier than this," Draco admitted with a smile.

Hermione laughed at those school nicknames, unsure of how they got started, and who started them. "Oh that reminds me, I've got a nickname for you, and it's even a play on mine in a way, want to hear it?"

Draco nodded his head eagerly, not sure why he was feeling so excited.

"Well, I got it from a Muggle gambling saying, something which I find even more fitting," Hermione chuckled.

"Yea, years ago I might have been horrified to be named after anything Muggle. But if it's a gambling saying I might know it," Draco shared.

"Well I was thinking of calling you Ace, like my ace in the hole, since you're helping me," she revealed with a smile, waiting to see his reaction.

"I like that, Ace, that's a name reserved for someone cool. And you're Curlicue with your pretty curls."

"Or Cue for short, and you'd be…" Hermione started

"A?" Draco guess, the realization suddenly hitting him, "Oh, like Q&A, I like that. It reminds me of being at school, because everyone in Slytherin always came to me for answers."

"Exactly, I figured since we were the top two students in our class, it fit on all fronts, I'm glad you like it Ace," she finished, trying out the new name.

The both of them laughed and relaxed into the couch, for once feeling like they weren't trapped in the Manor with Death Eaters; it was a wonderful feeling. The pair of them began looking through the Latin translations, thinking of a way to make a spell to free her. Poppy found them there a little bit later, wondering why they hadn't called for breakfast.

"Oh hi Poppy, I forgot all about breakfast, although now that I think about it, I am rather hungry. Do you think we could have pancakes?" Hermione wondered.

Poppy nodded her head in response, pancakes would be easy. Poppy smiled at the pair and made her way to the kitchen.

"Do you think, that maybe the counter-curse would need blood, like the first spell? Hermione asked uneasily, not wanting to spill any more blood.

"I hope not, Dark Magic can require blood but not much Light Magic needs it. Although, it might be necessary to release the bind on you, hopefully we won't have to find out," Draco admitted.

Hermione nodded her head, unsure she could cast a spell requiring blood. Suddenly Hermione remembered what she had been thinking about the other night, wondering if she could ask Draco about it. She tried to put it from her mind as they ate a late breakfast together, just enjoying his company and his dedication to finding a way out for her.

"You know, I was wondering, what do you think I should say tomorrow, after I give the Weasley's your note?"

"Well, let's see," she mused, pulling the note out of her pocket, "'Dear Order Members, I, Hermione, want to tell you that due to some unforeseen circumstance, I am stuck at the Malfoy Manor. Draco has decided to help me escape. I want to ask that you please consider bringing Draco and Mrs. Malfoy under Order protection, they are willing to cooperate fully with us and help our cause. Without his help I would surely be dead by now, he is willingly passing on my messages in order to ease my burden. Yours, Hermione.' Most likely the first thing they are going to want to know is if it's true, and what unforeseen circumstance it is that is holding me here.

"Clearly they'll think I've been held hostage here, being abused and threatened into giving up information. So they'll wonder how it is that I've passed on these notes to you. It's best to be truthful, that You-Know-Who bound me to you. Maybe they'll even know what spell he used, if it's not one he created recently. They'll want to know why you changed your mind about being on his side."

"I can answer all of their questions I'm sure, I just don't want to say anything that might make them think I'm lying or hurting you. I don't want to make any more mistakes you know?" Draco told her.

Hermione looked at him with a sympathetic face, knowing it wasn't going to be that easy for him. He was essentially heading into the lion's den for her, they wouldn't be easy on him. At least this time she'd be with Mrs. Malfoy until he returned, that should keep her safe. Until Friday that is, then she'd be at the mercy of the enemy, especially Bellatrix; Hermione shuddered at the thought of being in the same room as her again, hand coming up to her neck.

"What's wrong Cue?" Draco asked, feeling her shudder next to him.

"I was thinking about Friday, and what might happen. I'll be in the same room as Bellatrix again, I don't know if I can face her," she confessed.

"I won't let her do anything to you, she'll taunt you, but it's my job to punish you how I see fit, not hers. She won't be able to torture you like last time, I think she wants to see if I'll do it more than to see you get punished really. She thinks I'm too soft, and wants me to be more like her."

"Your aunt is a psycho!"

"Imagine having her be related to you, of having to call her Aunt, knowing that you share the same blood."

"At least you are nothing like her, you turned out good Ace, believe me."

Draco nodded his head, feeling better after hearing her; it was good to know that someone saw him for him and not for his family. He was soon lost in his thoughts, mind wandering back to his mission. Hermione, it seemed, was able to read his thoughts, asking him a question.

"What is it that you do for the evil snake?"

"Well, usually I just deliver things, letters or packages. I usually have no idea what's in them, but sometimes I do. I know every time I go to Cobb & Webb's I'm delivering a list of items the Dark Lord wants. Every few days I'm sent there to pick up packages and bring them home or bring them to someone else. I don't know what the objects are, what they do, and I probably don't want to know. Other times I think I'm just passing on messages or battle plans. I think that he doesn't want to have any large meetings so that way we aren't all caught at the same time. And everyone is being kept in the loop via those messages, it would also make it hard for the Order to intercept the notes. If they did, they'd only get a small part of the larger picture, so I guess it's smart.

"I've never opened the packages, that would be a mistake, so I can't tell the Order what's in them or what is being planned, but I can tell them who I've delivered to and where I've met them. Do you think they'd accept that from me?"

"Anything you tell us would be a great help I'm sure. And maybe your mom knows more about it, since she talks with your father. And there might be more that you can tell us, that you don't think is important, or haven't even thought was significant."

"That's a good point, I guess I'll have to bring some of these books too, maybe that will help. I can tell them what kind of wards and enchantments we have at the Manor too, and how often the Dark Lord comes, no one but him can even Apparate into the Manor directly," Draco added, thinking of what else he might know.

"Draco, I want to ask a favor of you, even though you've already done so much for me," Hermione said, interrupting his thoughts.

"Is this the thing you were thinking about yesterday?"

"Yea, and I don't think I want an answer right away, so can I ask and have you promise not to mention it until after dinner? I'll be too embarrassed to talk about it I think, and I want you to think about it before you answer," Hermione told him shyly.

"Um sure, I'll do my best, I don't want you to be embarrassed," he tried to assure her.

Hermione took a deep breath before continuing, "Well um, I've been thinking about what happened with Lucius and um, what might have happened if you hadn't come in. And then I think about what might happen on Friday; I'm kinda a-a- virginwillyouhavesexwithmebeforethen? Hermione suddenly blurted out, face turning red.

Draco's eyes widened as he registered what she just told him, she was a virgin? As he thought about it, he wasn't entirely surprised, not because she was unattractive, but because she seemed to be the type that wouldn't have sex frivolously, it had to have meaning. Plus she had spent most of her older teenage years fighting evil, there really wasn't much time for such things. But she wanted him to take her virginity? Well, it wasn't like she could have Prince Charming come over for a visit, he realized; and she wanted it to happen on her own terms. He kept his promise and didn't respond right away, just nodded his head to assure her that he'd heard. He had a lot of thinking to do, was he capable of taking that from her, he really didn't deserve it.

Hermione willed her blush to go away, but at least Draco hadn't laughed at her. She thought he may have, her being a studious bookwork and a prude, of course she wouldn't have lowered herself by having sex, but he didn't say anything about her lack of sex being obvious. The old Draco would have given her endless amounts of grief for such a confession; he really had changed. She noticed the deep look in his eyes, he was seriously contemplating her question; she knew he probably didn't have qualms about her not being a Pureblood anymore, even Lucius didn't mind, as long as it was just sex. And Hermione tried to tell herself that's all it would be, just sex so that way if anything else happened, she wouldn't have that stolen from her as well.

Despite the heavy question hanging in the air, the pair managed to continue reading through the books. The found a few examples of spells similar to the Imperious Curse but not as strong, but those didn't come with any counter-curses either.

"Maybe, they are similar, I know that you can overcome the Imperious Curse if you have a strong enough will, do you think that may help here too?"

"You think you can overcome it by willing yourself free? You think it would be that easy?" Draco asked, hopeful.

"Might as well try it right? Order me to do something and I'll try to not to it."

"Um, okay, let's see," Draco paused, thinking of something easy to resist. "Go get me a glass of juice."

Hermione stood up and was halfway to the pantry before she realized she had even got up. When she tried to resist, it felt like she was watching herself from afar; she could easily think about sitting back down and ignoring the order but her body simply refused. It wasn't like when they learned about the curse in her 4th year, there was no voice telling her that she wanted to get the juice. There was just bodily obedience and nothing she could do about it

"That's interesting," Hermione shared as she handed him the glass.

"What is?"

"It's really nothing like the Imperious Curse. Remember when Professor Moody, well, the imposter Moody performed it on us a few years ago? That time I could hear his voice, repeating to me that I wanted to jump on the desk. I felt like jumping would be the most rewarding thing in the world, I wanted to jump."

"Yea, I do remember that, he had us all do some stupid things to show us how the curse worked. I also remember how it felt to cast it, it feels nothing like this," Draco reminded her somberly. He had used it on Madame Rosmerta last year, to get her to ambush a student.

"When I cast it, I remember having to focus, really focus on making her do what I wanted. Plus I had to be precise or she could have interpreted it a few different ways. Just now, I simply said I wanted juice."

"I had forgotten about that, it seems so long ago now. At first, I didn't even realize I had gotten up from the couch; then I told myself over and over that I didn't want to get the glass, but I got it anyways. There was no telling myself not to, it was like an out of body experience almost."

"Well, I guess it wasn't going to be that easy, too bad," he sighed.

"Maybe not, but at least we learned that it's not based the same as the Imperious Curse, that can help us when we come up with a spell."

Draco smiled at her, she was always looking on the bright side. No wonder she was so strong and a valued friend of Potter; him and Weasley must be beside themselves over her. He knew he would be if she had been her friend all those years; maybe if they had been friends, he wouldn't be here, and neither would she. Before either of them could say anything else, they heard a pair of doors open. Both of them froze, unsure what she should do, Poppy hadn't come to warn them, was she in trouble? Suddenly Narcissa came into the library, smiling at them both.

"Mother, you scared us half to death!"


	11. Favors

A/N: This is one of my longest chapters because I decided to include the fluffy sex scene between the two. If you don't want to read it, I marked it with a *Fluffy Sex Scene* so you can skip it. It takes us to the end of the chapter. This is my first time ever writing something like this so please keep that in mind, I was super embarrassed when I wrote it -blushes- otherwise, enjoy the chapter!

* * *

"Mother, you scared us half to death!"

"I thought Poppy was supposed to warn you if someone was coming?" Narcissa asked with a raised brow.

"Well, I told her if anyone with bad intentions was coming, I hadn't figured you'd come for a visit. But Poppy knows you are safe so you must have slipped through her wards."

"Draco, I know you know your mother quite a bit more than me, but in the future, we might all want a secret password, Polyjuice Potion does exist," Hermione cautioned

"I see now why you are called the brightest witch of your age, you should listen to her Draco. If your father had become suspicious of you, he might try to disguise himself. But rest assured, he still thinks you are a faithful follower."

"Yes, you are right, just on the off chance that Poppy's wards don't pick up on that. Hermione and I have nicknames for each other we could use, but what should we have with you, mum?" Draco asked, gesturing for his mother to sit with them.

"Well, considering we're thinking of defecting, maybe it should be Rhododendrons which mean beware, or possibly Hyacinth for sincerity," Narcissa offered.

"You really do know a lot about flowers Mrs. Malfoy, I had no idea flowers could mean so much. I mean I've heard about roses meaning love and friendship but nothing about those two flowers. No wonder you enjoy them so much," Hermione complimented.

"Thank you my dear, flowers are one of my passions. I'd be happy to tell you more tomorrow when we're out in the gardens," she told the younger witch, smiling at her. "I just wanted to come and visit with you before tomorrow, I didn't want our first, well, 'visit' to be unpleasant. I was hoping I could meet the girl that is helping my son to see the light as it were. Draco deserves more than this life, especially when I can't see this side winning, it's horrible what they do. I'm glad I never had to receive a Dark Mark, unlike my poor son," Narcissa reminisced, running her fingers through Draco's hair.

Draco rubbed his forearm, he could feel the Mark, even under his sleeve, he always felt it. He wanted the Dark Lord dead so the spell would be broken. "So I guess if we meet with each other, we can say one flower and in response we'll say the other, rhododendrons and hyacinths, both good choices."

Hermione felt herself relax, surprising herself. She had never really met Mrs. Malfoy before but she didn't really think she was very different from Lucius. But looking at her now, she could see just how much she loved her son; she was just a woman trying to do her best for her son. Maybe she couldn't stand up for Draco when his father had beat him, but she wasn't going to sit around and let him be a minion to the Dark Lord any longer. Hermione was grateful for that, she knew she had another ally in the house, there was someone else she could hide behind. A few nights ago she would have cringed at the thought of hiding behind anyone, she was a courageous Gryffindor after all, and now she was happy she wasn't alone. It didn't bother her that they were Malfoys, in dark times you depended on the people by your side, regardless of their past.

"Hermione dear, I just want you to know that I'm sorry for everything my family has put you through so far, and I wish there was something I could do to help. Just know that I promise to make it up to you however I can in the future."

"Mrs. Malfoy, it means a lot to me that you and your son are willing to help me and the Order. I feel so much better knowing that I have people to talk to here. I don't think I'd survive here if I was alone, I'd just collapse in on myself," Hermione shuddered at the thought.

Draco put his arm around her, trying to comfort her, still thinking about what she had asked him. He couldn't say no to her, she was trying to keep everything on her own terms, he just felt undeserving. Narcissa quietly observed the pair, not failing to notice just how close they appeared. She smiled to herself, maybe this young witch would be good for Draco; Narcissa was all too aware of how distressing situations could bring people together. Hermione had only been here since Sunday and she had seen a lot of change in Draco; she couldn't be happier. She knew that there was no forcing Draco to do something he was unsure of, but this girl opened his eyes without even trying.

"Hey mum, do you want to have lunch with us up here, or is Father expecting you?"

"No, he won't be home for awhile, he got called by Aunt Bella earlier. I'd love to have dinner with you, it's been so long since we've chatted."

Draco and Hermione smiled, happy to have another person to chat with while they ate. Draco even asked Poppy if she would eat with them; she was rather surprised but agreed, squeaking with delight. It was one of the best nights Hermione had experienced in the Manor so far, everyone was laughing and sharing happy stories from before the war. It was all too soon that Mrs. Malfoy excused herself to retire to the main part of the Manor.

"Your mom is much nicer that I thought Draco, I'll admit I didn't think much of her before, I hadn't had reason to. But she was really easy to talk to, making me feel welcome here, despite the circumstances," Hermione confessed.

"You know, I didn't think about her coming to meet you before tomorrow. At least know you know what she's really like, not what she may act like tomorrow."

"Yea, I never thought about that. I know you told me that she'd be acting but it might have been hard for me to connect with her despite that. You're mum is pretty brilliant herself. I can see where you got your brains from," Hermione laughed with a wink. She felt her cheeks color, did she just wink at him? And it was technically after dinner, was he going to say yes? Hermione tried not to fidget as she peeked up at him through her eyelashes.

Draco couldn't explain why his heart started beating faster when she had winked at him, it seemed so natural and he wanted to feel that again. He watched as she ducked her head, blushing at herself; the wink must have surprised her too. Then his stomach felt like it did a back flip when she peered up at him, shyly hiding behind her lashes. Before he knew what he was doing, his hand cupped her chin, slowly lifting her face. He looked deep into her eyes, he could see the warm anticipation in her eyes; she leaned closer to him her eyes closing. Draco softly brought his lips to hers, eyes closing in bliss, his thumb caressing her cheek.

Hermione wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, pulling him closer to her; she needed to be close to him. She could feel his free arm wrap around her waist, his other hand cupping the back of her neck. He slowly leaned her back, pushing her down on the couch, resting his weight on his arm. Hermione's fingers played with his soft hair as she reclined, moaning when Draco lightly sucked on her lower lip and massaged her side. He released her lip, moving his head to her ear, nibbling on it lightly and giving her chills, she wanted more. Moving his kisses down her neck, Draco lightly traced his tongue across her pulse; he smiled when she let out a throaty moan, deciding to be gentle with her. She brought up her leg, pressing it along his hip, silently asking him to come closer. Obliging her he pressed his hips into hers as he reclaimed her lips, licking her upper lip. Her mouth opened, shyly reaching her tongue out to meet his, her mind reeled at the sensations his tongue was causing as he slowly explored her mouth and caressed her tongue.

Draco pulled away slowly, opening his eyes to look at her, enjoying the flushed look on her cheeks. When she opened her eyes, she saw his grey ones looking back at her, she couldn't tell what he was thinking.

"Are you sure Hermione? I don't really feel like I deserve this; deserve to be the one you trust with your virginity," Draco whispered.

"I am sure, I want this with you," Hermione assured him. "My virginity is mine to give and I freely give it to you Draco."

Draco felt his heart swell at her words, did she really trust him to do this; the look in her eyes hinted that this was more than just first time sex to get it out of the way. Her next words confirmed his thoughts.

"You've become very important to me, I feel so connected with you and I can't explain it. This just feels right for me, I hope that doesn't sound too girly or emotional."

Draco smiled, he couldn't help but realize how adorable she was. He leaned down and kissed her again, wanted to assure her that she was fine, "It's perfectly alright, this is important for young women, and I feel honored."

Draco sat up, pulling her with him; as they stood he swept her up in his arms holding her firmly against his chest. Just then he realized how petite she was compared to him, she seemed so small and delicate in his arms, even though she was a fiery lioness. He looked into her eyes and saw apprehension and excitement, nuzzling her ear, he promised her they'd go slow. She nodded against his chest, trying to remember to breathe and relax. This was finally going to happen; she was giving herself to Draco and trusting him not to hurt her in the end.

They entered Draco's bedroom, Draco's softly closing the door with his foot before walking over to the bed. Laying her gently on the bed, he climbed next to her, kissing her and curling his fingers in her hair. He couldn't believe how much he wanted to touch her, her skin was so soft and delicate. It amazed him how girls could be so soft and gentle where he was lean and muscular, how they could taste so wonderful and intoxicating? Tonight he was going to show her how special she really was, she wasn't going to regret this decision.

*Fluffy Sex Scene*

Hermione boldly reached up under his shirt, feeling his toned stomach, gasping at herself; Draco claimed her lips, his tongue searching her mouth, playing with her tongue. He wrapped his arms around her waist and shifted his weight, settling her on top of him. Wrapping his fingers in her hair, he gently tilted her head and began nibbling on her neck, grazing her sensitive skin with his teeth. Hermione whimpered, biting her lip at the sensation; as he moved lower she could feel him unbuttoning her blouse with his free hand. His mouth found the tops of her breast, his tongue tasting her tender flesh; Draco completely unbuttoned her blouse, his hand now lightly cupping her bra clad breast. She could feel his thumb rubbing the fabric over her nipple and she lightly thrust her hips into his. Hermione sat up slightly, seeing the longing in Draco's eyes; she shyly shrugged her shoulders out of her shirt.

Draco felt his pulse quicken when finished taking her top off, her shy movements intrigued him and the flush on her cheeks excited him. He reached up and gently kneaded her breasts, they were just right, fitting in his hands. Sitting up slightly, he kissed her again, pulling her back down to his chest while his hands roamed her sides and stomach. Her shaky hands came up and fumbled with his buttons, wanting to see him without a shirt. When she finally undid all of the buttons, she sat back, pulling Draco into a sitting position. He helped her get his arms out of the shirt, tossing it on the floor before lying back on the bed.

She looked down at him, biting her lip feeling nervous; he brought his hands up to her thighs, massaging them, wanting her to relax. She blushed as she looked down at his muscular chest and abs, her fingers running down his chest. Leaning down, she bit his ear, his neck and his shoulders earning a moan from her partner. Draco's hands made their way to her behind, aggressively grabbing them and rocked his hips against her. Hermione arched her back, grinding her hips against his as he tightly to her hips. When she looked down at him with a coy smile, he moved his hands up her back, finding the clasp of her bra. In a practiced motion, he had the clasp undone and slowly pulled the straps down her arms. Her face flushed, she'd never been this naked in front of a guy before, what would he think?

"You're beautiful Hermione, absolutely beautiful," he whispered, raising his mouth to her peaked nipples.

A loud gasp reached his ears as his tongue played with her rosy nipples, moving from one to the other. He sucked on them lightly, seeing if she enjoyed the sensation; when he heard her whimper, he grinned, sucking with a little more force. He released her breasts, looking up at her, making sure she was still alright with this, she kissed him, running her tongue through his mouth, wanting more of him. Draco hugged her close to his body, once more flipping them, so he was on top again. Before Hermione could say anything, he began kissing her body, trailing down her neck, to her chest. As his lips caressed her nipples again, he slowly undid her pants; he moved his mouth down her stomach, leaving kisses all over.

Hermione lifted her hips to help him slide her pants off, leaving her in her underwear and feeling nervous again. He noticed and lay next to her, kissing her ear and running his fingers along her taut stomach.

"Have you ever been touched down there?" he whispered.

She shook her head, unable to speak, trying to remember to breathe. His fingers slid lowers, lightly rubbing the front of her panties.

"Not even by yourself?"

"N-no," she managed to squeak. She had often wondered what it would be like but always chickened out before doing anything.

"Allow me then."

Hermione took a gasp of air as she felt his hand slip under the fabric, fingers expertly finding her clit and rubbing in small circles. She could help but arch her back and groan at his touch, his teeth grazing her neck again. He slowly added a little pressure, listening to her breathing to gauge her reaction. After a moment, he slid his middle finger along her lips, groaning as he felt how wet she was, she wanted him badly.

He could feel her hands running through his hair, and down his shoulders as his kissed her, continuing to run his finger around her opening. He reminded himself that she hadn't done this before, he didn't want to go too fast. Between his mouth on her and his fingers on her clit, she was rocking her hips, wanting to feel more. He pulled away just a bit, to look into her eyes, she gave a slight nod. He smiled as he started to suckle on her lip, slowly reaching his index finger into her tight folds. He slowly worked his finger in and out, wiggling slightly; Hermione was unraveling under his touch. She had no idea this could feel so good, and this was just his finger. Moans and whimpers came out of her and he started stroking faster, hips rocking when he added another digit. She crushed her lips against his, fingers digging into his back, he moaned at her reactions. Slowly he pulled his fingers out, going back to rubbing her clit as he sat up. Despite her slight whimpers of protest, he removed his hand from her underwear; he stood up and undid his own pants, stepping out of them before climbing back onto the bed. He placed his hands on either side of her hips, ready to remove her panties, looking at her and waiting.

She paused, realizing just how completely naked she was about to be. Her toes wiggled against the bed, suddenly nervous and unsure.

"It's okay Cue, I'll be gentle," Draco assured her.

That was the reassurance she needed, she relaxed a bit and smiled, remembering how he had made her feel just moments before. Lifting her hips, she gave him permission to remove her last article of clothing. As her panties joined the rest of the clothes on the floor and Draco raised her ankle to his lips, placing a light kiss there. She couldn't help but giggle as he slowly placed kissed up her calf, her knee and up her thigh. He paused at her hips, nibbling the soft skin of her inner hip, then continuing his caresses upward. When he got to her lips, he kisses her so softly, a silent promise that she'd be alright. He settled his weight on his arms, body positioned over hers, his erection pressing against her. He continued to cover her mouth with kisses as he reached down with on hand, rubbing her clit again, preparing her a little. As she started to rub herself against him, he asked if she was ready. When she nodded, he positioned himself at her entrance, slowly pushing in until he felt the slight resistance. Hermione whimpered slightly at the pressure, squeezing his shoulders, she jumped slightly when she felt his breath on her ear.

"Relax, open your legs a little bit. When it starts to hurt a little more, just bite my shoulder, okay? I'll go fast and get it over with," Draco whispered, his voice husky with want.

She nodded, and adjusted her legs, taking a deep breath and willing her body to relax. She thought about Draco's strong body over her, protecting her, his gently caresses and reassuring words. When Draco felt her relax slightly, he pushed further in, feeling her tight walls around him, the small membrane tearing. He her whimper slightly, her fingers tensed but she didn't cry out, he stayed still for a few moments, letting her adjust to him inside of her. Slowly her fingers relaxed, it wasn't quite as painful as she had been expecting, but still uncomfortable to say the least. As she began to relax against him, she felt him slowly pull out and push back in. After a few repetitions, her body began to relax at the sensation, Draco easing her body more when he reached down, rubbing her sensitive spot.

Hermione moaned, feeling the excitement build in her body again, soon she was thrusting her hips in time with his, slowly building momentum. She began to gasp as she felt a strong pressure deep in her groin, wanting him to go faster. Her whimpering and frantic kisses spurred Draco into a faster pace, wanting her to feel release. He sat back a little, so he could watch her face, one hand fondling her breast and the other supporting his weight. There was a beautiful flush to her cheeks, creeping down her neck, her mouth open in ecstasy. She surprised him when she lifted one leg and wrapped it around his waist, pulling him in closer. He felt himself losing control, her tightness was almost too much for him. He thrust faster, deeper while her moans grew louder, and her back arched.

Her eyes flew open as she felt the pressure build up right before releasing, a scream tearing out of her throat suddenly. She felt amazing, eyes fluttering and body shaking, he heard Draco groan and he thrust deep into her one last time. He was panting, nuzzling her neck as he felt her body tense and flutter against him. Slowly her body relaxed, her leg releasing his waist as it fell back onto the bed; he kissed her neck as he tried to regulate his breathing. He rolled to his side, bring her with him so she was laying on his chest, relaxed and happy. Rubbing his hands in small circles on her back, he hid his face in her hair, amazed at what just happened. Hearing a sniffle, he opened his eyes, turning his head.

"Cue, you okay?"

"Yea, I am, I promise. I'm just having a girly moment," Hermione sniffled. She couldn't believe she was crying, how embarrassing! But she did just have sex for the first time, and it was sweet and with someone that cared for her. She'd heard a lot of stories about the first time being really awkward and unfulfilling but she didn't that way at all. It had been amazing. Grateful that he hadn't made a big fuss about her crying, she lay there in his arms, listening to his strong heartbeat, relaxing as he rubbed her back. She was vaguely aware that Draco had shifted them, so she was cuddled in his arms, under the sheets; turning her head so she could continue listening to his heart, she smiled.

"Thank you," she mumbled, before drifting off to sleep.

Draco looked down at the small witch in his arms, he loved the way she felt, cuddled against his chest. When he heard her whisper thank you, his pulse quickened, he felt so lucky in that moment. As she drifted off to sleep, he slowly reached over to his bedside table and grabbed his wand. With a few quick waves he had them both cleaned up and cast a Contraceptive Charm, he was sure neither of them wanted such a complication. He put his wand away and snuggled back up to the witch, quickly falling asleep.


	12. Alone at the Manor

*Thursday Morning*

Draco groaned as the sun snuck through the blinds and into his eyes, he snuggled his face into the pillow in front of him and smelled something fruity. When he groggily opened his eyes, she saw a mass of curls in front of him, suddenly remembering that Hermione was in his bed. He grinned wildly as he nuzzled her neck, wrapping his arm around her and pulling her close to him. Feeling content with her in his arms, he wanted nothing more than to lay with her all day. With a sigh he slowly sat up, kissing her on the cheek and smoothing her hair behind her ear.

"Hey Curlicue, good morning, time to get up," he whispered as he traced her ear with his lips.

She snuggled closer to his warmth, not wanting to wake up just yet. She smiled as she felt his lips on her ear, then giggled as his fingertips brushed her ribs lightly and finally opened her eyes.

"Okay I'm awake silly, why are we up so early?"

"Well, I have to get ready to go soon, I have an early meeting with some lowly Snatchers and then I'm going to 'take some personal time' at a massage parlor, and then I'm coming home to order my slave around, I've got a full day you know," Draco kidded.

"Massage parlor huh? I'm not surprised," she laughed, sticking her tongue out at him.

"I figure that would be a good reason why I was gone so long, you know after a long week of trying to break you and whatnot," he chuckled, then becoming serious, "I didn't want to leave and then have you wake up here alone. Come have breakfast with me? Then you can go back to sleep if you want for a little bit. I can have Poppy wake you."

"No, I'll stay up, I have a feeling Lucius might just be waiting for you to leave here. Will your mom be up this early?"

"Yea, she's an early riser, but by the time we finish breakfast she should be ready. I'll tell you to go on to my mother before I leave, so that way Father can't pull you away from her. The order should protect you until I get back, is that okay Cue?"

"Yea that's fine, he'll assume you ordered me to do something specific up here and then reinforced it before you left."

"Come on, let's go take a shower," Draco winked at her, climbing out of the bed and headed into the bathroom.

Hermione blushed at the familiarity but couldn't help but grin as she remembered last night. She quickly followed him into the shower, stepping into the blissfully warm water. Draco heard the door open and turned around, slightly surprised she had joined him. He pulled her further into the shower, water positioned to spray on the bench that was still there.

"Here, have a seat, relax," Draco hummed in her ear, beginning to rub small circles on her shoulders.

Hermione leaned back, enjoying the slight pressure of his fingers on her muscles. His hands slowly went higher, massaging her neck and then her scalp Hermione sighed at his touch, it was amazing how deft he was with his fingers. He felt him twist and reach for a bottle, popping it open, the scent of honey pear reaching her nose.

"Is that my shampoo?" she asked as he started to massage it into her hair.

"Yup, I'm assuming Poppy brought it over some time, she's really perceptive. I'm sure your lotion is on the counter too," he answered, loving the feel of her hair. He spared a moment to wonder when he had turned into a sap, but brushed the thought away. He was happy, that's all he wanted.

Hermione felt spoiled as Draco continued to wash her body, it felt like she was being intently studied by his hands and she wasn't embarrassed in the least. What amazed her that there wasn't anything sexual about what he was doing; he peppered her shoulders, neck, and lips with small kisses but kept his touches light. She felt shivers run up and down her spine as she remembered the way his hands caressed her body last night; the way he touched her made her special. When she was all clean, he turned and started to wash his own hair, but Hermione interrupted him, lathering up and running her soapy hands down his chest, wanting to return the favor.

"Quidditch has really been good to you Ace, you're so lean, with hard, defined muscles. I never would have imagined you looked like this under your school robes."

He heard the hitch in her breathing, her hands shaking slightly; leaning down he kissed her forehead, taking her hands in his. Her hands were tender and elegant, easily fitting into his larger ones. He moved her hands over his body, encouraging her experimental touches; Draco resumed washing his hair, loving the feel of her small hands roaming his body. Once he rinsed his hair, he took her in his arms, holding her close to his chest.

"Come on, let's dry off and get some food, I'm feeling pretty hungry now, what about you?"

Hermione giggled and nodded her head, she could use some food. When they stepped out of the shower he handed her a towel before wrapping one around his waist. Giving her a quick kiss on the cheek, he left her to her after shower routine and dried off in his room. After he dressed, he called Poppy in to ask for breakfast, asking Hermione what she wanted. He sat on his bed as he waited for Hermione to finish up; after shower rituals could be important to young women and he didn't want her to feel insecure about her tendencies. When she finally appeared, wrapped in a towel, she looked radiant; he'd have to tell Poppy to make sure she always had anything she needed, she was stunning.

"What are you smiling about?"

"Huh? Oh, I was just thinking about how wonderful you look," he replied honestly.

Hermione blushed as she made her way to the door, heading to her room to get dressed. Draco followed her, waiting outside her door, calling out to her.

"I've always wondered, why is it that girls think they need to wear a lot of makeup? You never seem to wear any and you look so amazing."

"I've honestly wondered the same thing, I mean, it takes so much effort. I spend enough time getting out of the shower."

"But that's just you taking care of yourself, that's why you're so soft to touch. I'm glad you don't wear makeup, I get to see the real you," he finished as she returned to the hall.

"I never thought I'd hear you sound so, so happy Draco, if the boys at Hogwarts could hear you now."

"I can admit to being happy, and appreciating a beautiful witch; I'll admit to feeling a little sappy lately but, this is all new to me. You're just special I guess," he told her with a sincere smile.

The duo went and ate breakfast in the sunroom, enjoying each other's company. Hermione hadn't believed in all the mushy tales of falling in love with the first guy you slept with; she hadn't thought she'd feel even closer to Draco after last night, but she did. She keep these feelings to herself as they ate, not wanting to scare him or push him away. The way his larger frame covered her, she had felt so safe cuddled up to him last night. Hopefully these feelings would sort themselves out before too long; she didn't want to get hurt when this was all over.

Draco was having similar thoughts, he hadn't wanted his feelings to grow, he didn't want to ruin the budding friendship they had been building. Hermione trusted him last night, and now he wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to her now. She didn't seem to mind their closeness this morning, but he didn't want to expect more of her if she wasn't wanting or ready to give it. He figured they'd have the day to sort out their feelings and talk about it later.

"All done? I guess we should head towards the main hall, Mother is probably waiting for us and I've got to get going."

"Should I change?"

"Oh, I hadn't even thought of that but I suppose you should, just so no one thinks you're being treated too well. I'll meet you at the doors," Draco told her as she went back into her room to change.

As Hermione pulled out her slave outfit, she noticed that all the buttons were back in place, wondering if Poppy had fixed it for her. Quickly pulling it on and trying to stretch it as far as it would allow, she went back and met Draco in the hall.

"Good luck today, Mum will protect you Cue," he assured her.

"Good luck to you too, let me know how the meeting goes," she replied, giving him a kiss.

They both tried to hide their smiles as they went down the stairs, Draco grabbing her wrist as they neared the bottom.

"Okay you, I'm leaving now, go be with Mother until I get back," Draco ordered her.

Hermione managed to squeak out a timid 'yes Master' before he let go of her. He wanted to look back at her as he walked to the front door but knew better, she'd be safe with his mom until he returned. Hermione's feet quickly found their way to Mrs. Malfoy's sitting room, the older witch was sitting on one of the couches waiting for her.

"Ah Granger, I take it my son has finally left?"

"Yes ma'am, he asked me to help you with your hyacinths in the garden today," Hermione replied, remembering what the three of them had discussed the other day.

Narcissa smiled at her a moment before answering, "Yes, that will be nice, we can also prune the rhododendrons, they are in need of it."

Hermione relaxed slightly, just knowing that Mrs. Malfoy was herself. The pair of them quickly made their way through the house and out into the garden, the sun just warm enough to be without a coat.

*Meeting with the Snatchers*

Draco stood in a darkened street along Knockturn Alley, waiting for the Snatchers to appear. He didn't have to wait long before two darkly dressed wizards turned down the street.

"Malfoy?"

"Yea, what was so important?"

"We was just wantin' to know, when we getting paid?"

"Paid? For what exactly?"

"Well we've brought in quite o' few o' them outlaws, blood traitors and Muggle-borns. We've been doin' our job, so when we getting paid?"

"As far as I'm concerned I don't care, I'm not in charge of that crap," Malfoy sneered.

"Well we suggest you find out for us then," demanded the heavier Snatcher, stepping closer to Malfoy.

"Well then, I'll just call my Aunt down here shall I? She'll be happy to clear this up I'm sure."

Both of the Snatchers looked at each other, scared. No one wanted to mess with Bellatrix Lestrange, that was asking to be tortured.

"Even if you do get paid for every single body you bring in, I suggest you bring it up with the people you deliver to, not to me. Such a waste of my time!" Draco hissed, turning away from the Snatchers. Just then he saw a flash of red hair, a few alleys away. Once they made eye contact, the Weasley walked further into the shadows. They were waiting for him to come; he'd have to get the Snatchers out of here before he made contact.

"Hey, wait a minute there Malfoy," one of them called out. "Yo-you ain't really gonna call your aunt right? I mean, we're clear right? We'll just bring this up back at the Ministry, no worries."

"Yea, we're clear, just don't waste any more of my time," he barked over his shoulder, walking away. When he heard the two of them Disapparate, he quickly strode over to the last place he saw red hair. As he walked further into the shadows, he felt hands roughly pull him off his feet; he started to struggle before realizing he should cooperate. He was shoved through an open door, into an abandoned shop; he could smell the musty air.

"Sit him down Bill," he heard one of the wizards say.


	13. Surprise, Surprise

*Back at the Manor*

Narcissa lead the younger witch to her garden, smiling as she gazed upon the flowers. She called for an elf to bring her the gardening supplies. Within moments both witches had gloves and pruning shears.

"Have you ever cared for a garden before?"

"Not my own, I mean, I've helped Professor Sprout in Herbology but that's about all my experience ma'am"

"It's not difficult if you know what to look for," Narcissa started. In the next few minutes, Narcissa was showing her how to clip a withering blossom from the plants as well as to check for healthy stems and leaves. Hermione slowly got the feel for pruning, occasionally asking the older witch about the flowers.

Within an hour Hermione had learned a lot about the various flowers in the garden, what they meant to Narcissa and why she had picked them. She had never been one to care for flowers, but hearing Mrs. Malfoy talk about them, she began to appreciate them, understanding why Narcissa cared for them so much. In her garden, she could plant whatever she wanted, leaving behind hidden messages of loyalty and innocence, weaving a story just for herself.

The pair had just sat down, getting ready to eat lunch when they heard someone approach, heads turning towards the sound of footsteps. Hermione instantly stood up, eyes downcast waiting for someone to speak.

Narcissa spoke up first, "Why Draco, I'm surprised you are back so soon."

"I took care of the Snatchers fairly quickly and wasted no time in coming home. I'm astounded you've let the Mudblood dine in your presence, quite the surprise."

Hermione's breath hitched, Draco wouldn't have said that, was his father close by? Was he trying to warn them? Narcissa just narrowed her eyes as she looked at the boy standing there.

"Well, I didn't want her to sit on my beautiful flowers, so of course I told her to sit at the table here, and I couldn't ignore her growling stomach. I thought if I didn't feed her, you'd be angry with me, after all, you seem to be taking care of her rather well Son."

"That is a good point Mother, I'm sorry for my tone. Come along Slave, it's time we left Mother alone," Draco ordered, waiting for the girl to join his side.

"But Draco, wouldn't you stay and admire my hyacinths? They're blooming nicely aren't they?" Narcissa asked, wary of her son's behavior.

"Of course Mother, your garden has always been quite beautiful but there are thing I wish to attend to and I need the Mudblood to do her job."

Hermione's head snapped up, eye wide in terror. The way he said those words, they were just like what Lucius had said to her. And he didn't say the password, what did that mean? She turned towards Mrs. Malfoy, unsure of what she was to do, but the other witch was looking at her son.

"I would rather appreciate it if I could borrow her for just a little longer, I still need to fertilize the garden and I'm sure she could work much faster than the house elves do."

"Maybe next time, Mudblood, come here!" he ordered.

But Hermione stayed rooted to the spot, afraid to follow him, this was wrong, all wrong.

"You still dare to defy me? It seems like I have a lot of work to do before tomorrow. We'll start right now, _Crucio_!" Draco hissed.

Hermione closed her eyes waiting for the pain to come. She dropped to the ground as her muscles tightened but the sensation wasn't overly painful. Suddenly her muscles relaxed, and the sound of yelling came to her ears.

"Lucius? LUCIUS! How dare you?" Narcissa was screeching.

Was Lucius here? Where had he come from? He had to have been the one to curse her, she had heard his voice, there was no mistaking it.

Vaguely she could hear more bickering around her, mind still fuzzy and confused, but then she heard a name she recognized-

"Poppy, come here." A slight pause before the elf Apparated. "Help the girl and stay with her until I get back. I don't want her running off. I need to have a word with my husband!"

"Yes Mistress."

Hermione looked up as the little elf came over to her and helped her to sit up. When she looked over her shoulder, she saw Narcissa striding into the house, a sullen Draco following her. Looking to Poppy for answers, Poppy looked just as confused.

*In the House*

"Lucius what are you thinking?" Narcissa demanded to know.

"How did you know it was me?"

"You think I wouldn't recognize your voice when you cast that curse? I've heard you say that hundreds of times," his wife admonished.

"Well she wasn't obeying me, I guess I forgot to control my voice," Lucius shrugged, still disguised as Draco.

"I'm assuming you brewed some Polyjuice Potion?"

"Yes, we had made some for a few of the Snatchers earlier and I kept some for myself."

"Why?"

"Because I wanted to teach that Mudblood a thing or two," Lucius answered.

"You know that girl is important to the Dark Lord, that's why he hasn't had her killed yet. What do you think would happen if He found out you tried something like this? He dotes upon Draco, he offered that Granger girl up as a gift for killing Dumbledore and being a faithful Death Eater. She is his responsibility, he's in charge of her, not you," Narcissa raged.

"Quite frankly, I don't think our son is up for the job, you saw how she disobeyed an order!" Lucius countered.

"You didn't give her much time to react, you are so impatient!"

"Then Draco needs to be quicker on the punishment, she shouldn't have any hesitations, an order is an order and she needs to snap to it!"

"How Draco decides to punish her is completely up to him, stop trying to interfere or I'll tell the Dark Lord myself," she warned.

"Would you really?" Lucius questioned his wife, a dangerous look on his face.

"I would, if it meant you'd stop hurting Draco's chances. I'm sure you've realized by now that entrusting the girl to our family is a very big deal. If word got out that she was seriously injured or no longer of any use, the Dark Lord would be very unhappy. Your methods are a bit too harsh for someone her age. I'm sure He had that in mind when he assigned Draco to be her owner and not you. He passed you over for a reason," Narcissa spat out, disgusted with her husband.

"How dare you-"

"No, how dare you!" she interrupted. "You're the one that relentlessly tortured that other witch and turned her into a blubbering mess, just like Bella did with the Longbottoms. Sometimes you don't know when to quit, just like my sister. Not everyone is alive for you to torture mercilessly; we need that girl alive and responsive for the Dark Lord to continue to favor our son, is that clear?"

"My darling wife, you are treading a very fine line right now, I am the Head of this house and I make the rules, do you understand?"

Narcissa just stood her ground, chin held out defiantly. She wasn't going to back down, not this time; Hermione was her son's only hope at salvation. She didn't even cry out in pain when Lucius slapped her, instead she just raised an eyebrow, questioning his strength.

"Dear husband, as much as you loathe admitting it, I am correct in this matter. Draco is the right person to be handling the girl's development."

"You honestly think that he'll be able to turn her against her friends?"

"Probably not, but at least she'll still be of service if the Dark Lord needs her."

Lucius snarled at his wife, ready to hit her again but he calmed himself; she was right of course. The Dark Lord still had a use for the girl, one they weren't privy to just yet. But if he went and did something too drastic, he might spoil the plan. He was still trying to rebuild his standing after what happened at the Ministry a couple of years ago.

"I'll reign myself in, for now Narcissa. I'll admit I can't control myself around such young things," Lucius admitted, giving his wife a disdainful look. "But remember your place or next time I won't be so nice."

As he strode out of the hallway, still masquerading as Draco, Narcissa let out a deep breath. Lucius was a force to be reckoned with, she had learned long ago that is was dangerous to upset him. She lifted a hand to her cheek as she made her way back out to the gardens to check on Hermione.

*Abandoned Shop*

He was guided to a chair and pushed into it, Bill apparently, standing behind him, wand raised. Someone else lit a fire in the corner of the room, lighting everyone up, Draco recognized one of the twins standing by the fire, as well as an older man, Arthur Weasley, standing in front of him.

"Hand over your wand Mr. Malfoy, nice and easy," Mr. Weasley asked.

Draco slowly reached into his robes and pulled out his wand, holding it out for Mr. Weasley to take.

"What have you done with Hermione," the twin demanded, striding forward.

"Fred, please, calm down."

"Ah, where is George? I didn't think you two would be separated," Draco joked lightly.

Fred sneered at him before turning away, not giving away where George was. Draco was at least glad to have a name for the Weasley that had been following him around, Bill, good to know.

"We received your note from the other day, many of our members confirm that it was indeed Hermione's writing. Please tell us what is going on Mr. Malfoy," Arthur suggested, taking a seat.

"Well, first, I've been instructed to give you this note before saying anything," Draco explained as he slowly reached into his robes again.

"Easy there, don't move another inch," Bill told him, jabbing his wand into his back.

Draco gritted his teeth as he pulled his hand back, Hermione was right, they weren't very welcoming. Bill reached over his shoulder, flipping open his robes and searching his pockets. When he found the note, he held it out towards his father, giving Draco one last jab in the back.

Arthur quickly opened the letter and read it aloud so his sons could hear. As he read it, Fred glanced at Draco, unsure what to think of him.

"What exactly is Hermione talking about?"

"Well, um, about that," Draco nervously cleared his throat. "When she and the others were brought to the Manor, my Aunt Bellatrix was able to prevent Hermione from being rescued with the others. The Dark Lord was angry with everyone for letting Potter escape, but he didn't exactly take it out on Hermione-"

"Oh, she's Hermione to you? You don't deserve to say her name you snake!" Fred snarled.

"What would you have me call her?" Draco countered with a raised brow.

Arthur stopped the argument with a raise of his hand, "Go on Malfoy."

"He knew that Hermione would never betray her friends or the Order. He also thought that senselessly torturing her would be a waste, but of course he didn't want to just kill her, not when she was so valuable. Um, he," Draco paused, rubbing the back of his neck. He was concerned of how they'd take the news. "He, bound Hermione to me."

"What the bloody hell does that mean?"

"She's, stuck at the Manor, as my sl-slave," Draco rushed, closing his eyes at the expected onslaught.

"WHAT?!"

"Give me one good reason not to kill you right here Malfoy!"

"Because I'm Hermione's only chance," Draco yelled, turning to face the Weasley behind him. "I've been trying to help her, I don't want this! Like her letter said, I'm trying to help her escape, she doesn't deserve this."

"How do we know we can we trust you?"

"I'm willing to take Veritaserum, although we all know it's not completely trustworthy, there is an antidote and one can build up immunity to it. But I'm willing to take it. But regardless of what we do here, I have to return to the Manor, and no one can know I was with you. If I don't return, Hermione is going to be at the mercy at my Father, and I refuse to let that happen," Draco spat out vehemently.

Fred heard the malice in the blonde's voice, stepping closer to him and crouching down in front of him.

"What will happen to her if we don't let you return?"

"They'll assume I've been captured, possibly dead. They might think you'll want to trade me for her. But before they make any decisions, Hermione will be passed onto my father, or maybe some other Death Eater, you don't want to know what they'll do to her," he whispered, remembering the scared Hermione he found in his bed. "My father, he, already tried to rape her."

"Why did you allow that?" Fred hissed, jumping up and wrapping his hand around Malfoy's throat.

"I wasn't home, he waited until I was gone, it was on Tuesday, when I was out running errands. I had no idea he'd try something like that. As a rule, Hermione is seen as my property, he should have known better than to try anything. I thought she was safe," Draco confessed, looking Fred in the eyes.

"Then what about today? What's going to happen to her?" Arthur interrupted, pulling his son away from Draco.

"I left her with my mother, she knows that I want to help Hermione escape, she's more than willing to help protect her. She doesn't believe in what the Dark Lord is doing either, she just got pulled into it because of Father."

"Her note did say that she wanted us to protect you and your mother, so she is willing to cooperate, she fully understands the situation?"

"Yes she does, she wants to help in whatever way she can. As do I. I've tried to be as accommodating to Hermione as I could. I haven't ordered her to do anything, I give her space, I'm even trying to help come up with some sort of counter-spell to free her, although we haven't had much luck at all. I even offered to pass on those notes to you. I know you may not trust me, you've had one of your sons following me all over the place, but I do want to help."

"We haven't had Bill following you because we don't trust you," Mr. Weasley confessed.

"What are you talking about?"

Fred smirked, answering for his father, "You don't know much about your own team players do you?"

"Fred, I don't think now is the right time," Arthur started.

"Why not, he seems like he's worried about our Hermione," Fred countered.

"It's not the right time. We'll discuss it later."

Draco looked between the two Weasley's wondering what they meant and what it had to do with him.

"Mr. Malfoy, we can't discuss much here, what's important is we now know what is happening with Hermione. I'll have to talk it over with the other members of the Order but I'm willing to consider offering you and your mother protection, if you can bring Hermione back to us."

"Thank you," Draco sighed, relieved that they believed him, at least somewhat.

He slowly stood as the two older Weasley's went to the door, checking to see if the coast was clear. Fred came up to Draco, grabbing the front of his robes, "If anything, and I mean **_anything_** happens to her, I'll kill you myself, got it?"

"If anything happens to Hermione, I'll already be dead," Draco explained.

Fred eyes him for a moment longer before releasing his robes, extinguishing the fire as he walked away. In the moment, Draco just wanted to return to the Manor and check on her, hoping everything turned out alright. He stayed where he was as he watched the Weasley's discuss the next steps they should take, he wondered if he'd be meeting with them still or if they'd send someone new. Finally Fred came back over to him and explained what was to happen next.

"So, we're going to let you walk out of here first, Dad says that either he or Bill will contact you the next time you're here in London so keep an eye out. Between now and then, we'll alert the other members of the situation and have more to tell you after that; for now, that's all we can tell you," Fred told him quietly. Draco nodded his head in understanding before he continued, "And one other thing, I want you to give this to her, it's from me and George."

Draco looked down at the letter the twin was holding out, along with his wand, grabbing it and tucking it into his robe; he gave another curt nod, promising she'd get it. With that Fred lead him to the side door and stepped back so no one would see him when the door opened. Draco quickly straightened his robes and exiting the building, walking further into the main alley before turning and Apparating back home.


	14. Good News?

*At the Manor*

Narcissa found Hermione sitting at the table with Poppy holding a glass of water. The young witch's head snapped around when she heard footsteps approaching her, eyes full of suspicion. Narcissa quickly took up the seat opposite of Hermione, talking in a hushed voice when Poppy disappeared back into the Manor.

"Hermione, it appears we were correct in coming up with safe words, and none too soon. That was not my son but my husband who came out here moments ago. He decided to take some Polyjuice Potion and masquerade as Draco, in order to try and finish what he started. Lucius has a nasty habit of 'losing control' when he is around witches like yourself, a horrific pastime of his that he throws in my face every chance he gets. I apologize that you have to go through this."

"He does this a lot?"

"It saddens me to admit but yes. He is much like my sister Bella, although not nearly as unbalanced as her. He still does enjoy other peoples' pain, especially of the intimate nature when it comes to witches. Lucius also gets satisfaction by shaming me, telling me I'm no longer appealing to him in that way. I've gotten over such barbs long ago but I haven't been able to protect the witches he sets his sights on."

"He's a very sick man, why are you still with him?"

"Well, now that the Dark Lord is back, it's not safe for me to leave, especially with Draco hanging in the balance. I'm not from a generation that throws away marriages, especially as a witch, there are different standards for Pureblood marriages. Love isn't often required for marriage, although at first Lucius wasn't so bad. And the first few years after the Dark Lord fell he was amiable again, but after his return, his darker side came out once more, worse than before. He is no longer the man I married, and I have to face that now. Maybe you coming here was a sign for us, to redeem ourselves."

"Well, I'm glad you feel that way, I want to help you, both of you. I'm sorry that things are the way they are, that you have this darkness looming in your house," Hermione said.

"I'm the one who should be sorry, you're an innocent girl trapped in this place, with that very darkness trying to corrupt you. I'm glad that Lucius didn't get away with his plan just now," Narcissa responded, covering Hermione's hand with her own.

"We'll all get through this together, once we get away from the Manor I think things will be easier, we just need hope."

Narcissa smiled, she had held on this long, she could wait a little longer to get Draco out of this dark place. The pair enjoyed a moment of silence before returning to their unfinished meal. Narcissa hoped that tomorrow would pass quickly; there was no telling what Lucius and Bella would make Draco do tomorrow, what humiliation they'd want to subject Hermione to. She didn't have long to dwell on that subject before Draco came striding towards them once more.

As Draco entered the courtyard, he saw his mother and Cue sitting at the small table, eating lunch. With a heavy sigh, he threw himself down onto a chair, he felt exhausted. The Weasley's seemed open enough to the idea of protecting him, but what about the rest of the Order, would they agree? And even if they did, how soon could he get Hermione out of here, let alone be able to break the spell placed on her. And of course, tomorrow he still had to face his father and his aunt, he had to break her in front of her enemies and he really didn't think he could do it.

"Hello Mother, Curlicue. How was everything while I was gone?" Draco asked, resting his chin in his hand.

"Well Draco, don't you look worn out, you didn't even notice the garden."

His eyes turned towards his mother, unsure of why she was bringing up the garden right now. Just as he was about to open his mouth to ask, he remembered what the three of them discussed.

"I'm sorry Mother, I've just had a long day, forgive me. You've done a beautiful job, the hyacinths are coming in nicely this year. I've missed seeing you in the garden."

At his words, he saw both witches collapse with relief, his mother reaching over and patting his hand.

"Did something happen while I was away?" he asked, looking between the two witches.

"You could say that," Hermione said with a scowl.

Draco tensed, "Tell me."

"Well it would seem as though your father has set his sights on Hermione and simply refuses to listen to reason. Just after we started lunch, he came out here, ordering Hermione to go back inside," Narcissa began.

"Why would he think Hermione would listen to him?"

"That would be because he decided to take some Polyjuice Potion and pretend to be you. He didn't need to try hard to disguise his voice, but his mannerisms were quite unlike yours. Well, they were unlike how you act around me in private."

Draco paled, would his father ever stop? Why did Hermione mean so much to him? "What happened?"

Hermione told him, deciding to spare Narcissa, "Well he said something about me having to finish a job, which was my first clue something was wrong. I was too confused to understand what was going on at first. Narcissa was trying to come up with reasons to let me stay, obviously aware of your change in attitude, that and the fact you never actually said anything about the flowers. He was adamant about me leaving with him, even ordering me to go with him. When I refused, he cursed me, saying that I really needed to work on obeying orders. I'm not really sure about what happened right after that though, I'm still piecing it all together."

"I was thinking that perhaps, you had returned and that your father had spoken to you, or maybe was watching. Then I thought you had been Imperioused by Lucius, but of course you were too aware of your surroundings for that. It was when he cursed her that I realized what he did, I've heard him cast that curse countless times, I recognized him immediately at that point and started yelling at him. Before I left I called Poppy to look after her, we've only been out here for a few minutes, talking about the situation before you arrived. The real you this time," Narcissa finished.

"Father is making life difficult right now, my head is starting to pound, Poppy might have to bring me a potion later."

Hermione sighed, "Me too. It's been a long day and it's only halfway over."

"Let's head back inside, Poppy can bring you up some lunch if you want, I think it's best if we get Hermione back into your wing of the house."

Hermione agreed, she felt much safer behind those doors where she knew Poppy had set up some wards. The three of them quickly went inside, herding Hermione up the stairs, keeping an eye out for Lucius. Once they were in the third floor wing, Hermione excused herself to go change back into her clothes while Draco and Narcissa went and sat in the library to talk.

"Why is Father doing this?"

"For some reason, he just seems to want Hermione, it's been awhile since he's had a young witch as a 'plaything' so she must be driving him mad. Plus I'm sure he feels like less than a man now that you have more favor than him, so he might be trying to step on your toes. I hope I set him straight this afternoon. I told him that I'd go to the Dark Lord and explain how Lucius has been interfering with her. He seemed to understand the implications of that, so hopefully he'll behave himself."

Draco shook his head, "Not tomorrow he won't, I'm sure of it. He's going to try to do everything he can to embarrass me and hurt her. I don't think I can do this."

"I'll be there as well, so I might be able to dissuade him from making you do some things, although I doubt I'll have any say when it comes to Bellatrix. I just hope they'll be satisfied and leave you both alone for awhile. Then hopefully we'll be able to get her out of here before anything else comes up."

Hermione walked into the room, joining the conversation, "I hope so too, I know Bellatrix has a wicked mind, the sooner I'm away from her the better."

"Oh Cue, I've got something for you," Draco remembered, reaching into his robes. He handed her the letter as she joined them on the couch. "I got it from Fred before I left London."

"Fred was there? Who else? What happened?"

"One thing at a time, go ahead and read the letter and I'm going to go get some snacks, I'm hungry."

Draco ran his fingers through Hermione's hair as he stood up, making his way to the sitting room. Hermione quickly opened the letter, eyes tearing:

Hermione,  
We hope this letter finds you well, we're all worried about you.  
If there is anything we can do to help you out, don't hesitate to contact us. Don't let Malfoy boss you around, if anyone can find a way out of this mess, it's you Princess.  
Yours,  
The Twins

She was rereading the letter for the 4th time when Draco came back with his snack; he sat beside her and glanced at the letter. He could tell that the message had quite an effect on her, she had a big smile on her face and he could see her eyes scanning the letter over and over.

"Hey, did you want to write them something back? I'm supposed to see one of the Weasley's again soon."

"Yea, I'll be sure to write them something, what did they say? What happened today?"

Draco looked over at the two ladies on the couch with him, both looked so eager to hear good news. "Well, I took care of the Snatchers and their petty problem and I saw Bill, that's who has been following me by the way, walk down an alleyway. So I waited until the Snatchers left and followed him. Of course they pushed me into some abandoned shop and took my wand, Arthur was there as well as Fred.

"They of course wanted to know what I knew and how you were. I showed them the letter, they were livid at the news about you being stuck here as my slave. I stressed that I had to return here because I was the only person keeping you safe, and Mum of course. I did tell them about what happened with my father the other day. That didn't go over well either, as expected. All in all though, once they got past the shock of everything, they seemed open to the idea of taking us in. Mr. Weasley did say he'd bring it up to the rest of the Order and get back to me. So no promises yet but I'm hopeful, now all we need to figure out is how to get you out of this spell. I'm not sure when I'll be sent back out, Aunt Bella will probably tell me tomorrow. I might have to start making excuses to head out to London and keep a lookout for red hair. Who knows how long it might take everyone to agree on what to do."

Narcissa looked at the young pair, "I'm almost certain they'll agree to protecting us, it would mean Hermione is returned to them, safe and sound and we'll be able to pass on information to them. I know a bit about the big picture, I hear a lot from all the Death Eater gatherings I've been arranging," Narcissa said, looking over at her son.

"Is that why you've been organizing all of those?"

"Yes, it is important to always gather information, you never know when you might need it."

Hermione turned towards the older witch, "But did you know you were going to be switching sides?"

"No, I had hoped but I gathered the information on the chance that I'd be able to escape the worst of the war with my son and hopefully my husband. I think the Order would be pleased with the information I've gathered. The Order should also be pleased with just Draco's presence, lately Draco has risen in the ranks, even if you don't feel like it. The loss of an up-and-coming Death Eater will hurt the morale of some of the lesser followers."

"Well hopefully the Order will see it that way and get back to us soon, the longer it takes the more I'm going to worry. And the sooner we can get Hermione out of here the better, I don't want Father trying anything else."

Hermione stood up suddenly, mind working, "Why didn't I feel compelled to do what Lucius told me to do this afternoon? Even with all the strange behavior, I believed that the person standing in front of me was Draco, so shouldn't I have had to do what he said?"

Draco thought about that a moment, "Well could it be because the curse used my blood to bind you to me? Maybe the magic knows he didn't have my blood, even if he looked like me?"

"That's the only thing that makes sense really, that as long as you are my owner, I'm completely safe from other people. At least in terms of someone trying to trick me, obviously it seems they can still over power me," Hermione mumbled, thinking back to the attack. "Something wasn't right this afternoon, when Lucius cursed me, it was different. Did you interrupt the spell Narcissa?"

Narcissa shook her head, wondering what the girl was talking about. They watched as she paced back and forth, not wanting to interrupt her thought process.

"Something happened, but I have no idea what. This afternoon when he tried to curse me, I didn't feel pain, not really. I felt my muscles tighten all of a sudden and that's what made me fall down, I couldn't balance myself. But there wasn't any pain at all, I don't understand."

"Is it too much to hope that you've built up some miraculous immunity to the Cruciatus curse?"

"Of course not, that's not something you can just get over I don't think. I'm confused," Hermione said as she sat down again.

"I'll have to look into something, but I might be able to come up with some answers for you two, so don't despair just yet," Narcissa soothed, getting up from the couch. "Please be careful, do your best to prepare yourselves for tomorrow, I'll leave you both alone to discuss it. I'm sure it would be even more difficult if I were here."

"Thanks for your help Mum, with everything today," Draco said, giving her a hug.

"Yes, thank you, you really saved me today, I'm glad I wasn't alone."

The pair watched as the tall witch left the room, sitting in silence for awhile. Hermione reached over and grasped Draco's hand, needing strength.


	15. Can I escape?

"Tomorrow, it's really happening isn't it?"

Draco nodded his head, unable to say anything.

"Even if I could escape, I think it would be a bad idea for me to leave before they see me tomorrow."

"What are you talking about Cue? Tomorrow you'll be at their mercy, if I could get you out of here tonight, I would. Regardless of what that would mean for me," he said, standing up to pull her into his arms. "I can't stand the thought of them trying to hurt you."

Hermione lost her strength, falling into his arms as tears filled her eyes. She didn't think she could face them, not after what Lucius had done, had tried to do. As much as Draco wanted to, he wouldn't be able to protect her, not really. He had to play along, still had to be the faithful Death Eater until they could escape.

"Draco…"

"Wait, I know what we can do, I feel so stupid, why didn't we do this sooner," Draco mumbled. "I might have a way to get you out of here, right now."

"What are you talking about?"

"Poppy, come here please."

With a pop, the house elf was in front of them, curtsying, "Yes Master?"

"You can Apparate in and out of the Manor can't you Poppy, just like Dobby did when he rescued Potter."

"Yes, that's how I go to the stores."

"And you can take Miss Hermione with you right?"

Hermione's eyes widened, why hadn't they thought of this before? Elves had separate magic, even if the wizards couldn't come in and out of the house, nothing was stopping the elves from doing it.

"Yes, Poppy supposes so."

"Okay Poppy, I want you to take Miss Hermione somewhere safe, we need to get her out of the house right away!"

"Wait, Draco, do you think this will work? I'm sure the Order would have thought about sending Dobby back for me right away, if it were this easy right?"

"Maybe they did, at first. Although Dobby only would have gone into the dungeon, assuming you were being held there. But you weren't in there, and it's too dangerous for him to be roaming the Manor. And then when they found out I'm trying to help you, maybe they didn't want to risk it," Draco guessed.

"Maybe. I suppose we should try, even if we haven't broken the curse, we'll at least be out of the Manor right?"

Poppy came over to Hermione and held her hand, when she was ready, Poppy Disapparated them. Hermione felt the familiar sensation of Apparation, but then suddenly, she felt a wall in front of her, stopping her forward movement. Then suddenly she was thrown backwards, the room around her spinning. She crashed to the floor, Poppy landing on top of her with a squeak.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked, kneeling beside them in an instant.

"Ugh, talk about a rough landing."

"What happened Poppy?"

"Poppy isn't sure. We hit a wall and Poppy could go no further, not with Miss Hermione."

"I wonder if Father figured out a way to prevent you from leaving, I'll have to ask Mother. Damn! I was sure this would work. I'm sorry, are you two alright?"

"Yea, I'm fine, just a bit disappointed. But it will be okay Ace, you'll be here with me."

"Poppy is fine as well, was there anything else Master wanted?"

Draco shook his head and dismissed the elf, helping Hermione off the floor. They had been so close, what happened? He began pacing the room in frustration, running his hands through his hair. Was he strong enough for tomorrow, he could put on his mask and act like she was nothing to him? Would they believe it?

"We will make it through whatever happens tomorrow, I promise. I'll be strong because I know you'll be there with me. I'm a Gryffindor after all right? I'm strong and brave and I face danger. And you're a Slytherin, you know how to achieve your goals, how to be sneaky and cunning. You'll be able to trick them into believing anything tomorrow," Hermione promised. "I-I believe in you."

Hearing her words, Draco stood straight, forcing himself to be calm. She was right, together they'd get through this, and his mom would be there as well. He gave her a nod, promising her he'd hold it together.

"Now how about you help me write a response to the twins, and probably the other Weasley's too."

She walked over to him and wrapped her hand around his, pulling him to the office; for a little while at least, they'd be able to focus on something else. After a few hours, Hermione had finally been able to come up with a few short letters for the Weasley's, as well and Harry and Ron if they were to make an appearance. She hated not knowing if everyone was okay or not. Draco hadn't been to any meetings since she had become his slave, so he wasn't able to bring her any news. She hugged the small pile of letters to her chest, wishing she could be hugging her second family.

"We'll put these in my room, they'll be safe there and I promise I'll take them with me every time I go out. Want to have an early dinner?"

"Yea, dinner sounds good. Then maybe I can go sit in the dark and try to not dwell on tomorrow."

He gently took the letters from her and led her from the office; she made her way to the sitting room to think about dinner while Draco put the letters in one of his drawers. By the time he sat down with Hermione, she had decided what to have and had already asked Poppy to prepare it.

Hermione watched the blonde as he came and sat with her, "You know, I think we should talk about tomorrow instead of avoiding it. I think it will help me, what about you?"

"I don't think I'll be ready either way but, we can try to talk about it."

"I'm afraid. I have no idea what to do. I wasn't afraid when I thought I was going to be tortured, I had been expecting it. I was a prisoner, a Mudblood, but now, everything is different. If I do something wrong or mess up, you'll be the one that has to pay for it. That's not fair."

"War isn't ever fair. Normally they use that tactic for interrogation, but they still think that I'm in control. It's a test for me too, to see if I'm heartless. To make sure that I can't be corrupted, and that I can break the Great Hermione Granger. Your first night here, I couldn't sleep. I kept wondering what might have happened to you if I had grown up more like my father and not made up my own mind. What might I have done to you?" he confessed, voice dropping.

"There is no use thinking about that, you didn't turn out that way. I got really lucky that things turned out the way they did, it could have been much worse, for the both of us."

Draco shrugged, having a hard time with her faith in him, "I hope you're right. I don't know what I may have to do, I'm afraid I'll end up showing some kind of emotion on my face. I know they'll be jeering at you, I don't even know how exactly they'll want me to present you."

"Then we'll just have to keep telling ourselves not to break character. It will be just like we're in a movie," Hermione decided.

"Movie?"

Hermione's jaw dropped, "You've never heard of movies? Television?"

"Nope, never heard of those."

"You have a lot of catching up to do Ace, movies are great. They are like stories, only told by people acting them out. They are like plays only with special effects and awesome action and stunts. And the best part is you can rewind it and play it again. It's the same every time. I mean, it's like your wizard photos."

"Like our photos? What do you mean exactly? I kinda get what you're saying but it sounds really weird," Draco said, scrunching his brows.

"Well, you know how the wizards in the photos can move? How they have a set loop that they play in, based on the action of the photo? Well imagine someone taking a photo, but instead of looping, it goes on for a couple of hours, and there are all sorts of sounds and effects too."

"Couple of hours? Really? And you can watch this whenever you want?"

"Yea, once you buy the movie, and you have the player and a television, you can watch it as many times as you want. There are all types of movies. And some Muggles, are in many different movies, playing different roles."

"That sounds pretty cool, I might have to check some of these out later."

I think you'll be pretty impressed at what Muggles can do with special effects," Hermione promised.

They were interrupted briefly as Poppy brought them some dinner; both of them lightly nibbling at the food for a few minutes. Neither wanted to bring up the dark topic again but it needed to be discussed.

"So what does the movie thing have to do with us exactly?"

"Well, I was thinking that we can pretend to be like those actors. Tomorrow, we'll be playing a role. Tomorrow, you are the son of a Death Eater, rising in the ranks. You hate me and what I stand for; you have to prove yourself to everyone around you. Don't break character, keep telling yourself that. And then when we come back in here, you can stop acting."

"But what if I hurt you?"

Hermione offered a small smile, "Well, we have to make it look very convincing, but I think I can manage to act hurt even when you don't hit me hard. I'm strong I promise, I can take a slap or two."

Draco grabbed the brave witch's hand, "I don't want to feel like I believe in that though."

"You haven't believed in what they stand for in a long time, you told me so. One day of pretending won't change your mind. You know that you don't want to be like them, you feel wrong. Don't worry so much about it. We'll survive tomorrow and work on escaping here as soon as we can."

Hermione pulled the blonde towards her, giving him a fierce embrace; she tried to transfer some of her strength to him knowing he needed reassurance. All his life he'd been brought up to believe in the Dark Lord and his idiotic beliefs. It wasn't easy standing up to your own past and declaring a new path for yourself; to tear down everything you thought you stood for and rebuild yourself from the rubble, it took a lot of strength and courage. Reluctantly, she pulled away and looked down at her plate, trying to make herself eat more of the food.

"You're right Curlicue, like always. I'm glad you are willing to do this, I know you're doing it for my benefit," Draco mentioned before picking up his fork.

The pair ate in a comfortable silence for awhile, each trying to convince themselves that everything would turn out alright. Hermione kept wondering what might be too much or not enough. After a week with a supposed Death Eater, one that used to torment her in school no less, what might he have done to break her? She wasn't going to be too sassy, she'd be smarter than that, and no one wants to get beaten if they can avoid it. But she definitely wasn't going to be groveling, she'd stand straight and do Draco's bidding but appear to still have some spirit left. Most of his orders she'd have to obey regardless, but she'd rebel slightly were she could. Hermione knew that they wanted her to misbehave, to give Draco a chance to punish her. If she was too submissive, they'd be disappointed, or they'd think she had given up and then they might make her talk about the Order. Hermione's eyes opened wide at that thought.

On the couch next to her, Draco had been thinking about how to temper his hits, they had to be believable but he wasn't sure how hard might be too hard. He'd have to act uncaring when everyone tormented her, laugh at their cruel jokes and nasty comments. They'd probably expected him to be a little grabby as well, nothing like a little perversion to make a good show. Draco pushed his plate away from him, covering his face with his hands, elbows on his knees; tomorrow was going to be a nightmare.

Hermione's brain was firing, she hadn't even thought of them trying to get more information out of her now that she was under this curse. If Draco ordered her to spill her guts, could she deny him? They had experimented with bodily obedience but not verbal; he had only mentioned that she'd have to stop speaking if he told her to. So wouldn't she also have to speak if he wanted her to? Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him push his plate away and drop his head into his hands. She couldn't share this worry with him, it would be one more thing that he'd stress over. She'd come up with something on her own, hoping that it didn't come to that. If they had wanted information, there was nothing stopping them from asking for it the night she became bound to the blond next to her.

"Come, on, maybe we should get some sleep, you look exhausted Ace."

Draco scoffed, "Then I'm sure I'll look absolutely horrid tomorrow, I'm not sure I'll sleep well tonight. But I agree sleep would be for the best, who knows when they'll be expecting me… us."

The duo stood and stretched, sluggishly making their way into the hall, "Hey Draco, could I, possibly stay with you tonight? I don't want to be alone if they come for me before I'm awake."

"I would definitely prefer you to be with me, I'll relax a lot more knowing you're with me. Go on and change, I'll see you in my room in a few."

* * *

A/N: I wanted to let everyone know, I've added a bit more background to the story, I already added it to the settings back in chapter 1, but if you haven't read it, I'll repost it here, with the new information added in bold. It won't come into play for a few chapters yet, but I wanted to bring it to everyone's attention. Sorry it is worded a little confusingly, but I promise to fully explain it in the coming chapters. Thank you everyone for reading my stories and making me enjoy writing them for you all!  
Setting: AU starting at the events in DH where the trio is caught and taken to the Manor, Harry and Ron are down in the cellar and Hermione has been tortured by Bellatrix (following the book, no 'mudblood' scar on her arm, although she does have a good size cut on her throat, without being fatal) . **At the point of their capture, Ron and Harry have not destroyed the Locket Horcrux, instead rushing back to the tent to warm up. Afterward, none of them could decide how to destroy it so they continued to carry the locket and sword.** When Dobby comes to rescue them, not everything went according to plan and Hermione was Disapparated with Bellatrix before the chandelier was dropped. They only Apparated to a different section of the Manor, while Dobby saved Ron, Harry, and Griphook. Because Bellatrix was no longer in the room, she didn't throw the knife and Dobby is assumed to be alive, although the story centers on Hermione and then far as Voldemort is concerned, Draco completed his mission to kill Dumbledore and is highly regarded, not ill regarded like in the books (although Snape was still the one who actually killed Dumbledore, Draco got the credit). **As far as Headquarters go, Grimmauld is still secure, it was not forfeited during the escape from the Ministry.**


	16. Take a Deep Breath

Hermione scurried into her room, hoping this wasn't a mistake on their part. She quickly pulled out her slip and changed, heading into the bathroom to brush her teeth. She had to take a few deep breaths before she left her room, once she fell asleep tonight, she'd wake up in Hell. But at least she wasn't sleeping alone. Hermione knocked on the door before entering, not wanting to surprise Draco; when she entered, she saw him just coming out of the bathroom, dressed in pajama bottoms and nothing else.

Draco noticed her stare, "Hope you don't mind, I get rather hot if I have a shirt on."

She shook her head, too nervous to speak. She had seen him before, just the other night, why was she still so nervous around him? Her eyes were drawn to the faint scarring along his chest, wondering how he had gotten those, she hadn't noticed them the other night. Shaking her head, she pulled herself back to the moment, he wasn't totally naked at least; she needed to get a grip on her emotions and her hormones too. Slowly she padded over to the bed, climbing in and getting comfortable.

"Hey, I thought about something, and I don't want you to be uncomfortable so feel free to say no okay?" Draco said, climbing in next to her. When he saw her nod, he continued, "I'm pretty sure my father is going to come looking for you early in the morning, most likely hoping you're alone. When he doesn't find you in your room, he's going to come in here. I don't want him to think that we're too comfortable, that would definitely tip him off. Do you think you might be okay if I tied up your hands? Not to the bed or anything, just something so he thinks you partially need to be restrained."

A blush spread up her cheeks at his question, "I su-suppose that would make sense. And as long as it's not too tight I'm sure I'll be okay for the night. What did you have in mind?"

Draco's face mirrored her shy flush, he hadn't really been prepared for her answer. He reached over and grabbed his wand, conjuring a green satin ribbon. "I was thinking of just using this to tie your hands in front of you, that way you'd still have good range of motion, much better than behind your back or over your head. And I'd tie it just tight enough that it looks convincing and won't fall off while we sleep."

"Okay," Hermione agreed, holding her wrists out and trying to remember how to breathe.

He swallowed, fingers fumbling with the ribbon as he lightly pulled her wrists towards him. She was already so trusting of him, she was willing to be slightly restrained and vulnerable while they slept. He never expected any of this, why did she have such faith in him? Shaking his head slightly to clear it, he tied her wrists, palms together, with enough give that she could move without chaffing her skin but tight enough it shouldn't fall off.

"Is that alright? I figured this would be more comfortable than crossed wrists."

The witch nodded in agreement, "Yea, I usually sleep with my hands under my pillow anyways, if I'm not sprawled all over the bed that is. Quite unladylike I'll admit. So this should be pretty comfortable. Um, maybe, one also around my mouth, and then we can pull it down around my neck, like it slipped down."

He blinked in surprise, amazed that she'd suggest that. She saw his face and hastened to explain, "I figured it would look like you didn't want me to be screaming, but that you didn't want me completely silent either. I figured that's why, even after I screamed, that Lucius didn't cast a Silencing Charm on me."

"If you're comfortable with it, I think it would be a nice touch," he admitted, conjuring up another ribbon, slightly thicker than the previous one. He took a shaky breath as she scouted closer to him, turning her body so he could tie the ribbon behind her head. He made sure her mouth was covered, and tied a tight knot, careful not to catch any of her hair. Then he reached forward and pulled the ribbon down so it hung loosely around her neck.

Hermione tried to control her breathing as she felt the soft fabric cover her lips; she never imagined she'd be in someone's bed, willingly tying herself up. She trusted Draco, forgetting everything she would have believed about him in the past. She shivered slightly when his fingers brushed her cheeks, moving the ribbon to her neck. She turned her head, seeking out his silver eyes, lips parting of their own accord.

He had begun to trace small circles along her neck with his fingers when she turned, her golden brown eyes full of emotion. His breath caught in his throat as he realized that she wanted to be here with him, in this bed, vulnerable. She was trusting him to not hurt her, and to provide her with strength; he cupped her neck as he leaned down, claiming her lips. She mewled with want, unsure of her own feelings as he ran his tongue along her lips, she eagerly opened them, tasting his tongue with her own.

Laying her back onto the pillows, he positioned himself next to her, tangling his fingers in her curls. He caressed her tongue, moving one of his hands lower to cup her ass and pull her up against him. Her hands were running over his chest, her hips arcing into him, wanting to be closer. As she moved her hands, she felt the restrictive movements off the green satin, pulling away slightly from the kiss, catching her breath. She bit her lip, what was she doing? She was tied up and without magic, there was nothing she could do to stop Draco, and she wasn't even sure if she wanted him to stop. What happened to only having sex to get it out of the way? This hadn't been part of the plan. She looked up at him, eyes full of emotion, unsure of what to say or do.

Draco felt her body tense slightly as she pulled away, he opened his eyes to see her biting her lip. He understood that she was conflicted, he could see confusion swimming in her eyes; he felt the same way. He didn't want to push her into anything, especially since she was so vulnerable right now. They hadn't discussed what had happened between them the night before, he hadn't brought it up so she wouldn't be embarrassed. But now he couldn't stop himself from wanting her, she was so beautiful and delicate, but fierce in her own way. He didn't know if this was okay, this didn't feel like just sex to him and he wanted her to know that.

"Listen, Hermione I- I want you to know that, I care about you. A lot. I don't want to take advantage of you. Let's just leave off here, tonight isn't the time for that, not yet if you don't want to. I don't want you to feel conflicted or troubled, so I want you to know that I won't do anything you don't want me to. Last night was under different circumstances, but we haven't discussed anything and I don't want you to feel like you have to do this. I'm still trying to sort out everything myself, and I'm sure you are too, and that's alright. Come on, let's get some sleep Cue, I'll be here right beside you."

Hermione felt tears well up in her eyes, so much for not getting emotionally attached to this man. She felt relieved that he seemed to be feeling the same way about her, he hadn't been expecting casual sex from her; he had wanted her to know that he cared about her feelings. She leaned into his chest, whispering a soft thank you, enjoying his strong arms around her. Slowly, she began tracing the faint scars she had noticed early with her fingers. After a moment Draco noticed the pattern, having forgotten about those scars.

"Where did these come from?"

"Do you remember what happened 6th year? Did Potter even tell you?"

Hermione thought back for a moment, eyes widening as she remembered what Harry had told her, "Those scars are from that time in the bathroom? When he was almost expelled?"

"Yes. By some miracle Snape decided against it, as well as McGonagall; there were definitely perks of being The Chosen One. I'll admit, I had reacted rashly as well, but I had no idea Potter even knew a spell that could cause that kind of damage."

"He honestly had no idea what it did, he had read it in one of his books. When he heard you about to cast one of the Unforgivables, he panicked and tried the first thing that came to mind."

"I'm lucky to be alive, that Snape knew how to fix it, although I am ashamed I attempted to use that Curse on him."

"If Snape used to counter-curse, which he is one of the only ones to know it, since he created the spell, why are there still scars?"

"It was a pretty serious injury, even with some dittany applied, a scar was inevitable. I don't mind though, not anymore. Honestly it reminds me of what I don't want to become, of what I was so close to becoming. Snape saved me, saved my soul, when he killed Dumbledore."

Understanding Draco's feelings, she leaned over, lightly pressing her lips against the faint marks; she heard him inhale sharply, realizing what she was doing. Wordless, he wrapped his arms tighter around her, neither needing to speak. After a moment the couple got comfortable, Hermione turning lie on her side with Draco spooning her, arm over her waist. Despite the hectic day, both of them fell asleep quickly, neither moving all night.

When the door of his bedroom banged open the next morning, Draco's eyes flew open and he saw his father come storming into the room. Hermione stirred next to him, brain not fully registering the loud noise; she was awoken with a start as she was yanked out of bed. She struggled, arms not working right, something was wrong; as she looked up at Lucius's satisfied face, she remembered that her wrists were tied together. Draco quickly jumped out of bed, coming to Hermione's side.

"Can I help you Father? And if you would please take your hands off of my slave?"

Lucius chuckled, releasing the girl's arm, "I figured we'd get an early start on her performance review. I was worried when I didn't find her in her own chambers but I guess I shouldn't be surprised to find her in here."

Hermione stood tall, glowering at the man in front of her as he took in her state of dress and her bonds. An angry flush crept up her cheek as his eyes lingered on her bare legs, lust apparent in his eyes.

"Well if everyone is already here, allow us to get dressed and we'll be down," Draco said coolly.

"I don't see why she can't just come down like this, you get dressed Draco, I'll take her to everyone else."

Draco scowled at his father, "You will not. She belongs to me and I know about your recent slips in control. I won't have anyone touching her but me."

Lucius narrowed his eyes at his son but didn't challenge him, instead he just shrugged and walked out of the room, telling them to meet in the sitting room on the West Wing as soon as they were ready. As the door closed, Draco let out a relieved breath, at least his father hadn't insisted on taking her, he had no doubt that something would have happened on the way down.

"Come on Cue, time to start acting, I guess we'll go get dressed, unless you do want to go down in that?" he asked, eyebrow raised. He gave her time to think about it as he undid the ribbons around her wrists and neck.

"No, definitely not, then I wouldn't be able to sleep in it anymore. I'll meet you by the hallway doors."

She left the safety of Draco's room, hesitant in case Lucius had been waiting for her, but instead she found Poppy.

"Sorry Miss Hermione, for not warning you. Old Master Malfoy made me stay with Mistress Malfoy, Poppy suspects he knows of my wards."

"It is alright Poppy, Draco let me stay with him, he knew that Lucius would try something like this," Hermione assured the elf.

Poppy accompanied the witch into her room, pulling out her clothing for her as Hermione went into the bathroom. Through the door, Poppy assured her that in the future, she'd come, regardless of what Lucius told her. This made Hermione feel more at ease, surely Lucius couldn't keep Poppy away, she belonged to Draco after all. Besides, Narcissa had told him to stay away from her so he had no reason to come up to this floor anyways. As Hermione emerged from the bathroom, turning to her outfit, she had to remind herself to take deep breaths, hopefully it would be over soon. She quickly dressed and left her room, finding Draco waiting for her by the double doors.

"Ready?" he asked.

"No, but it's time. Better put on my scared face, I don't think it will be too hard."

Draco gave her a quick hug before opening the door and gripping her upper arm, "Here goes nothing."


End file.
